Limestone judge charged with financial exploitation of elderly, theft

Dec. 13--Limestone County District Judge Douglas Lee Patterson was arrested Thursday after being indicted on felony charges of first-degree financial exploitation of the elderly, third-degree theft of property and use of official position or office for personal gain.

Patterson is accused of taking more than $47,000 each from a juvenile court services fund and the conservatorship account of an incapacitated senior, Attorney General Steve Marshall said Thursday.

Special agents with the Attorney General's Office and the FBI took Patterson, 37, into custody Thursday morning, after his indictment by a Limestone County special grand jury, Marshall said in a statement. His bail was set at $30,000.

Patterson was arrested around 8:30 a.m. and released on bond at the Limestone County Jail about 30 minutes later, according to Limestone County Sheriff's Office spokesman Stephen Young.

The indictment means Patterson is now formally suspended from serving as a district court judge, according to Marshall, although the judge had not worked any cases for months due to the ongoing investigation.

Scott Hoyem, a spokesman for the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts, declined comment "other than to reassure the citizens of Limestone County that every possible effort has been taken to ensure that their legal system will not be disrupted or overburdened as a result Judge Patterson's suspension and trial."

More than three months ago, Limestone County Presiding Circuit Court Judge Robert Baker ordered that Patterson's cases be reassigned to the county's other judges while the state conducted its investigation. Baker could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

Limestone County has two circuit court judges, Baker and Chad Wise; and one other district court judge, Matthew Huggins.

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Still getting paid

Limestone County District Attorney Brian Jones, who is not involved in the prosecution, said Patterson has been suspended with pay.

Patterson earns a salary of $119,949 per year.

The bulk of Patterson's caseload has been divided by Huggins and Wise, Jones said.

"As this goes along, the (Alabama Bar Association) and the Judicial Inquiry Committee will take this up, and my understanding is they basically wait for the criminal case to be disposed before they'll act," Jones said. "That's their normal course."

Retired Morgan County Circuit Judge Steven Haddock has been appointed to preside over Patterson's case, Jones said.

Former Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Patterson to the bench in March 2016 after the retirement of former District Judge Jeanne Anderson, and Patterson ran unopposed later that year for a six-year term. The judgeship handles juvenile court, child support and misdemeanor criminal cases.

Patterson was previously a local attorney, and in that capacity he took assignments as a conservator -- a type of trustee -- for incapacitated people.

The Attorney General's Office said the state's investigation and the special grand jury's indictment are a result of assistance from some Limestone County judicial officials and employees. After uncovering evidence of the conduct alleged in the indictment, those individuals immediately alerted the Attorney General's Office of the matter and cooperated in the state's investigation.

The Attorney General's Special Prosecutions Division is prosecuting the case.

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Charges

The first count, use of official position or office for personal gain, stems from Patterson's service as a district court judge, which includes his supervision of the county's juvenile court system.

It charges that Patterson used his position as a judge to take $47,008.24 from the county's Juvenile Court Services Fund. That fund permits money to be spent "solely for juvenile programs, for subsistence for the juvenile court staff in Limestone County, to aid the functions of the juvenile court and for the benefit of the children of Limestone County."

The state's investigation showed that, over multiple years, Patterson wrote about 70 checks to himself from this account and either cashed the checks or deposited the money into his personal bank account, his law firm's operating account and his law firm's client-trust account, Marshall said.

Patterson ultimately spent the money on himself or other personal expenses unrelated to the county's juvenile court system, according to the attorney general.

The second count, financial exploitation of the elderly, alleges Patterson breached a fiduciary duty to Charles Hardy to obtain all of or a portion of $47,800 of Hardy's conservatorship account's money.

The state's investigation showed that, before becoming a judge, Patterson became Hardy's conservator in March 2010. Hardy, who is now deceased, was an incapacitated senior living in a Limestone County nursing home for military veterans and, at the time Patterson became his conservator, Hardy's account had more than $43,000.

By December 2016, the account had less than $200, and Patterson had withdrawn $47,800 for his own personal use, according to Marshall. Patterson deposited Hardy's money into his personal account, his law firm account and his business account, and some of these withdrawals took place after Patterson became a judge, Marshall said.

In each of these cases, Patterson converted the money to personal use unrelated to Hardy's care or well-being, according to Marshall.

The third count, for theft, charges that Patterson took a sum of money that exceeded $499 but was less than $1,500, which belonged to the estate of Rudolph Allen.

The state said its investigation showed that Patterson had served as Allen's conservator and, after Allen's death, Patterson made cash withdrawals from Allen's account for his own personal use.

If convicted, the first two charges are Class B felonies punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $30,000 each, according to the Attorney General's Office. The theft charge is a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine up to $7,500.

"To ensure the integrity of Alabama's judicial system, Alabama judges swear an oath to faithfully and honestly perform the duties of their office," Marshall said. "The allegations contained in this indictment shock the conscience and illustrate a callous and selfish disregard for the law as well as the welfare of Alabama's most vulnerable citizens: children and incapacitated seniors.

"If proven, Patterson's actions debase the judicial system," Marshall continued, calling for a trial as soon as possible to begin "the process of restoring the Limestone County community's faith in its judicial system."

District 4 Commissioner Ben Harrison said that "if we have corruption and we're dealing with it, that's less troubling to me than corruption going on and not dealing with it and sweeping it under the rug. That's unacceptable to me. If the charges are valid, that's sad."

Another Limestone County public official was indicted earlier this year.

Longtime Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely has pleaded not guilty to a 13-count ethics and theft indictment. He remains in office after being arrested in August on charges that he took thousands of dollars from campaign and law enforcement accounts. Blakely's trial is scheduled March 9.

-- marian.accardi@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438. Twitter @DD_MAccardi.

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