Convicted former Limestone sheriff loses appeal

Sep. 30—The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals today unanimously denied former Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely's appeal of two felony convictions.

Blakely, who served 38 years as sheriff, was automatically removed from the position when a jury on Aug. 3, 2021, found him guilty of first-degree theft and using his public office for personal gain, both felonies. He was sentenced to three years in jail, but has been out of jail on an appeal bond.

The 71-year-old made two main arguments in his appeal. The first was relevant to his conviction for first-degree theft, and the second to his conviction for using his office for personal gain. — Political consultant

First, he said Judge Pamela Baschab erred by failing to declare a mistrial over the fact that the Attorney General's Office failed to disclose until trial that it was investigating one of its own prosecution witness. Baschab, a retired judge, was appointed to handle Blakely's trial after all the Limestone County judges recused themselves.

The prosecution witness at issue was Trent Willis, owner of Red Brick Strategies in Huntsville. Evidence presented at trial indicated Blakely used his campaign account to intentionally overpay the political consulting firm. Willis testified Blakely arranged to pay Red Brick $7,500 from his campaign fund when only $3,500 was owed. Blakely then requested a refund and deposited the $4,000 into his personal account, rather than his campaign account, which constituted theft. Willis testified the purpose of the overpayment was so that Blakely could pocket the extra $4,000.

Before the assistant district attorney began questioning Willis at trial, she advised the court that he was under investigation for theft in an unrelated matter. Blakely's lawyers then objected to his testimony and moved for a mistrial on the grounds they had not previously been informed that Willis was being investigated.

The problem with the defense's argument, according to the five-judge appellate court, is that there was evidence Blakely's defense team knew Willis was being investigated even before the prosecutors in Blakely's case did. It was only when the defense, in advance of trial, raised the issue that the Blakely prosecutors realized another branch of the Attorney General's Office was investigating Willis.

The Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge could reasonably have concluded that Blakely knew about the investigation of Willis before trial. Moreover, the appellate court ruled, Blakely failed to demonstrate that the prosecution's failure to provide formal notice of the investigation of Willis prejudiced the defense.

"Blakely appeared to know as much or more than the State about the investigation into Willis — during cross-examination, defense counsel asked Willis about many incidents of his alleged misconduct and character, including theft of campaign funds," and the alleged victim of that theft testified at Blakely's trial. — Inmates' cash fund

Blakely in his appeal next argued that evidence he took money from an inmates' cash fund was insufficient for the jury to find him guilty of using his office for personal gain.

Ramona Robinson, the jail-account clerk at the time, testified that Blakely frequently took money from the safe used for the inmates' money and had her "put an IOU" in the safe. Those IOUs would accumulate.

"Eventually," the appellate court said in summarizing the trial testimony, "Blakely would bring Robinson a check for a higher amount than what he owed to the inmates' cash fund and take the difference in cash; however, Blakely would instruct Robinson to hold the check until he told her that she could take the check to the bank to be cashed."

At trial, the prosecution identified 19 such checks totaling $29,000 for which Blakely had insufficient funds in his personal account at some point between when the time they were drafted and when they were cashed so the money could be refunded to the safe used for inmates' money.

On appeal, Blakely argued there was no showing that he intended to commit a crime, and that he always reimbursed the inmates' fund.

The Court of Appeals disagreed.

"The amounts involved with the checks from Blakely were substantial, as were the lengths of time Blakely floated the checks," wrote Presiding Judge Mary Windom. "A jury could reasonably have found that Blakely used the inmates' cash fund to obtain what were, in effect, interest-free loans, which allowed Blakely to avoid borrowing money from a legitimate source or from having an overdrawn personal bank account."

This evidence, the judge concluded, was sufficient for a jury to conclude that Blakely "acted with intent to use his public office to obtain personal gain."

In a statement on Friday, Mark McDaniel, one of Blakely's lawyers, said the defense team will seek a rehearing from the Court of Criminal Appeals and, failing that, will pursue an appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court.

A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said Blakely's appeal bond will remain in place at least until the Court of Criminal Appeals issues a certificate of judgment, which it will not do until after Blakely's lawyers decide whether to seek a rehearing.

"I am pleased that the Court today upheld the conviction of Mike Blakely and that he will not evade justice for his abuses of the public's trust," Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement.

— eric@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2435. Twitter @DD_Fleischauer.