BLAKELY TRIAL: Jurors to disregard portion of testimony

Jul. 28—The trial of Limestone County's sheriff could be nearing the end, as defense attorneys announced Wednesday they could be finished presenting their side of the case as soon as Thursday. It was unknown at the end of court Wednesday whether prosecutors would be calling rebuttal witnesses before the trial moves on to closing arguments and jury deliberation, two of the few stages left before a verdict can be announced.

In presenting Wednesday's portion of the defense, jurors heard testimony from seven witnesses, including current Limestone County jail staff.

They were also told by Judge Pamela Baschab to disregard portions of testimony from a campaign finance law expert and to be weary of possible influence on a witness' testimony after he broke court rules to sit in on part of the trial. These instructions were in response to motions from prosecutors.

State motions

The state brought three issues before the judge during a break in court proceedings Wednesday. The first issue regarded testimony from Steve Raby, a former political candidate who now works as a political consultant. He began his testimony Tuesday afternoon as a campaign law expert and continued testifying Wednesday morning.

While being questioned by the defense team, Raby told the court about a $100 fine for certain violations of the Fair Campaign Practices Act. The FCPA, among other things, includes rules for handling campaign finances, reporting donations and expenses, and creating political committees.

However, the prosecution said FCPA does not mention $100 fines. Additionally, Raby discussed the statutes of limitations for FCPA violations, which Blakely has not been charged with in this case.

Prosecutors said this testimony goes against a motion in limine ruled on before the trial began.

Their second issue also involved a motion in limine, this one seeking to prevent Blakely's team from using the health of himself or his family "to elicit sympathy from the jury." Prosecutors said defense attorneys had repeatedly referenced the health of Blakely's wife during the times at which certain alleged crimes occurred.

Defense attorney Robert Tuten argued that it was important to mention her health because it was her health issue that prevented Blakely from attending an election training event in Washington, D.C. He is accused of stealing $3,000 in campaign funds for the trip. Prosecutors have said he took the money to pay personal bills and did not pay it back until years later, after he found out about an ethics investigation into his actions, while defense attorneys have said Blakely was distracted by his wife's declining health and didn't realize the funds hadn't been paid back until he got notice of the ethics investigation.

Baschab noted the rulings on each motion in limine were made by her predecessor, Judge Pride Tompkins, before he recused himself from the trial. She advised the defense team to refrain from mentioning health issues until she had time to review Tompkins' orders and later instructed jurors to disregard the portions of Raby's testimony that dealt with FCPA fines or penalties.

Breaking the rules

The third issue brought up by prosecutors involved a witness who may have broken court rules on the first day of witness testimony. As expected, many have taken time out of their day to watch Blakely's trial in-person, and the defense attorneys have repeatedly asked Baschab to remind everyone that witnesses and potential witnesses are not allowed to be in the courtroom.

Unfortunately, it was one of their own witnesses that allegedly broke the rule. Prosecutors informed the court Wednesday that Roger Elmore, former president of the Athens-Limestone Association of Realtors and the first witness called to the stand for the defense, might have been in the courtroom when another ALAR member and a representative for the Alabama Association of Realtors had given their testimonies.

Baschab asked why prosecutors had waited to mention this, as the testimonies were given at the start of last week and Elmore didn't take the stand until Tuesday. Prosecutors said they didn't learn about the situation until Tuesday night, after court had adjourned.

Baschab decided to tell jurors Wednesday afternoon that Elmore's testimony may have been clouded by what he heard other witnesses say before he took the stand.

Inmate labor

As for testimony heard Wednesday, two members of the Limestone County jail staff shared their side of the inmate labor arrangement with Higo LLC. Blakely is accused of allowing Brad Pullum, a Higo co-owner, to use work-release inmates to soundproof an office in exchange for Pullum helping to arrange thousands in loans for Blakely.

Lt. Tammy Waddell, who works as assistant jail administrator, and Sgt. Roy Brooks, a correctional officer, gave a different version of events. Waddell said the inmates weren't part of the work release program and were instead part of another group of inmates called trustees that are also allowed to seek paid work outside of the jail.

She explained part of her job is to oversee inmate laborers, and unlike those in the work release program, trustees do not have be receive a sentence for their alleged crime before they accept work. They can also work in places that do not have worker's compensation insurance in case they are injured on the job, and they receive 100% of their paycheck if paid. Work-release inmates only get 75%, she said, with the other 25% going to the Limestone County Commission.

Trustees generally work inside the jail as cooks or janitorial staff, according to Waddell, but can occasionally get approved for paid labor outside the jail. She said pay inside the jail is about $1 per day, so they often volunteer for outside work so they can earn more and get a break from being inside the jail facility.

When Pullum and his associate Rodney Jackson requested inmates for the Higo project, Blakely might not have even been aware of the request, according to Waddell. She said the project was only supposed to last a few days.

Brooks said it was either Waddell or Capt. Vanessa Rich, the jail administrator, who selected three trustees for the job. It wasn't until one of the inmates informed Brooks that they hadn't been paid for the previous two weeks of work that the jail staff realized the trustees were still being picked up and asked to work full work-weeks on the project.

Waddell said it was "unusual" for any inmate not in the work-release program to work a full 40-hour week outside the jail. Brooks admitted he forgot to check on the project and whether the inmates were still being picked up, so they didn't know until the inmate reported the lack of pay.

It was at this point, Waddell told jurors, that Blakely learned of the arrangement, as he happened to walk in while they were discussing the situation. She and Brooks each testified that Blakely quickly called Jackson and demanded the inmates be paid that day.

They also each told jurors that Blakely threatened to have Jackson and Pullum arrested if the paychecks weren't provided that day. Waddell said Blakely told her not to send the inmates to Higo anymore, but Brooks said they were able to continue working there for a few more days because the paycheck issue had been resolved.

Alleged misconduct

Waddell was also questioned about the 2016 Orange Beach trip in which she and Rich attended an Association of County Commissions of Alabama conference. It was during this trip that Blakely allegedly received per-diem funds for the full trip despite not registering for the conference, not attending a special event for sheriffs and leaving partway through to play golf and gamble in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Evidence shows Waddell told investigators with the Alabama attorney general's office in 2019 that Blakely went to the conference with his wife, stayed in the condo with Waddell and Rich, and attended the full conference — including classes at the conference. On Wednesday, she told the court she got the years mixed up and was likely telling investigators about the 2017 conference, not 2016.

She also told the court Wednesday that the AGO investigators intimidated her during her interview. Prosecutors played a recording of the interview, at the end of which Waddell said the investigators had been professional and nonthreatening, but Waddell said the recording didn't start until more than an hour after the interview began.

She testified she "felt beaten" by the investigators. She also felt "so ready to get out" that she "would've said anything" to leave, she said.

According to Waddell, the period before the recording began involved threats to have her arrested for obstruction of justice, AGO investigators hitting the table with their hands and insisting she knew more than she was letting on.

"When I couldn't answer the way I think they wanted me to answer, they got very upset," she told jurors, later adding she didn't want to lie, which is why her story changed when it was time to testify before a grand jury and again in court Wednesday.

"I want the truth to be known," she said.

Prosecutors asked why she waited until Wednesday to accuse the AG's office of misconduct and intimidation, noting she could have mentioned it during the grand jury testimony given without the investigators in the room, during email exchanges about other matters or by looking up a contact number and calling the office.

Waddell said her discomfort and lack of trust in the office may have contributed to her delay to report. When asked her feelings on the sheriff and his office, she said she was proud of her more than 20 years of work with Limestone County Sheriff's Office and that she's known Blakely since she was a teenager.

She told the court it would be a fair statement for someone to say she doesn't want to see him convicted.

Court to resume Thursday

Defense attorneys said they are nearing the end of their list of witnesses and could rest their case as soon as Thursday. Prosecutors said they weren't sure yet if they would have rebuttal witnesses to call after the defense rests.

Baschab requested both sides meet to discuss proposed jury instructions and that they provide their side's proposed verdict forms ahead of a charge conference before jury deliberation. She also asked if either side had an issue with jurors texting the court officer if they had questions, so he wouldn't have to sit outside the deliberation room the entire time.

The requests were made after jurors had been dismissed for the day. Court is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Thursday, and The News Courier will have additional coverage as the trial continues.