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Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely was sentenced to jail time in his own prison after being indicted on 13 counts of theft and breach of ethics.
Blakely, a Democrat, is currently serving his 10th consecutive term. He took office in 1983.
Blakely is charged with the following crimes:
- Six heads of use of a position or an official office for personal purposes
- Two counts of first-degree theft
- Two counts of second-degree theft
- Two counts of third-degree theft
- A fourth-degree flight leader
He is accused of stealing $ 11,000 from his campaign account and illegally taking money out of Limestone County funds, according to the Attorney General 's office. Alabama.
Blakely will plead not guilty, announced today his lawyers to the reporters. Blakely did not speak to reporters.
Stephen Young, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said Blakely was back at work this afternoon after being released on bail of $ 49,000.
"The sheriff's office will continue to provide the best service we have ever done," he said.
Young declined to comment on specific details about the case.
"An indictment by a grand jury is not a conviction," he said. "As Sheriff Blakely told me," You can indict a ham sandwich. "
In addition, Blakely is accused of having used his position to acquire interest-free loans "in the form of a $ 50,000 bank check and / or a $ 22,189.68 credit." dollars, "and having made money in a safe used to store the personal funds of Limestone County inmates, Attorney General. Steve Marshall said in a press release.
"Public servants are responsible for performing their duties honestly and without reproach," said Marshall, "when this bond of trust is broken, our society suffers undue hardship." My office – in collaboration with our federal and state partners – is committed to ensuring that violators of public trust are held accountable under the law.
A spokesman for the sheriff's office declined to comment. It is not known if Blakely has a lawyer.
Blakely also faces a charge for soliciting a bank transfer of $ 1,000 from a subordinate other than in the normal course of business, according to Marshall's office.
The FBI helped to investigate the case.
"Although the vast majority of civil servants perform their duties honorably, those who corrupt the activities of the government deprive their communities – their friends and neighbors – of the fundamental right to an honest government, and we must insist that everyone, honestly, integrates and trustworthy, "said FBI Special Agent Birmingham, Johnnie Sharp, Jr. in a press release.
Blakely was the subject of an investigation by the Ethics Commission of Alabama, which revealed last year that the sheriff had presumably violated the law on l '39. state ethics. The commission has not disclosed any information on the nature of the case. The case was forwarded to the Alabama Attorney General's Office for investigation.
In 2018, Blakely amended a 2016 Ethical Disclosure Form to indicate that he had received more than $ 250,000 from the Tennessee Lottery and Gaming Institutions.
The state's ethical law requires elected officials and certain other public sector employees to file annual disclosure – known as a statement of economic interests. The declaration indicates sources of income, debts and other information intended to reveal the potential conflicts of interest between the declarant's public employment and the private financial interests.
Last update at 13:14.
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