Sentencing date set in Blakely case
Aug. 4—A sentencing hearing has been set for later this month for former Limestone Sheriff Mike Blakely, records show.
The hearing is set to take place 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 20. A presentence investigation will be conducted ahead of the hearing, according to an order issued Tuesday by Judge Pamela Baschab.
Defense attorneys have requested Blakely be released on bond until the sentencing, saying the sheriff is not a flight risk due to his ties in the community. In a separate filing, they noted that a previous elected official was allowed to remain out on bond until his sentencing.
Prosecutors filed a response to the defense motion in which they noted that elected official, Douglas Patterson, had pleaded guilty to his crimes, whereas Blakely went through with a trial and was convicted by a Limestone County jury. They also stated it was "standard practice" in Limestone County to deny bond for criminal defendants who have been convicted at trial but not yet sentenced.
"To be clear, Blakely is asking for a benefit that the people that he and his former deputies arrested would not receive in Limestone County if they went to trial and were convicted," the state's reply reads.
However, the state noted the matter is ultimately up to each trial's judge, which in this case would be Baschab.
