https://www.wsfa.com/2019/08/22/limestone-county-sheriff-indicted-theft-ethics-charges/

Another one was arrested in Pickens county last week and a deputy sheriff yesterday.

I've always thought Blakely was a tool anyway.

Blakely has been there forever. If it's true then the real numbers are probably staggering and won't be known without a serious forensic accounting.

Doesn’t surprise me..always wondered where he got the money to drop thousands on scratch offs in Ardmore every week..

Not good for the limestone cowboy.

It’s complete BS. Some group is coming after him because he actually enforces the law. I swear most of this world just hates other people because they’re envious of their power or their money...... they just want to watch the world burn. Blakely was good for this county and all these old wives tales of him being crooked are complete BS and here-say. Show me proof of one instance! Even with these charges they didn’t get enough evidence to convince a judge and had to go to a grand jury for the arrest warrant/indictment.

Grand Juries always are needed to indict. In Alabama there is no right to hearings prior to a grand jury for felonies. A lot of cases are out before a grand jury before someone is arrested. Especially high profile cases.

And that’s no hearsay.

The only way he would have already been before a judge was if they had already arrested him and he had a Preliminary hearing. It is normal on these type cases to take it to a Grand Jury first. Apparently a majority of citizens on the Grand Jury saw enough proof.

I started the police academy in 1986 and went with a couple of guys from up there. I remember his name on the cars they drove back then. That is a long time.

C'mon, y'all, don't bring real facts about how the judiciary works into this.

OK this article does mention it, but the one I saw earlier said he amended his Ethic Report to say that he got 250K+ from gambling and lottery interest in TN. How in the world can this be legal?

Say what? They obviously showed a grand jury full of Limestone county residents enough proof to indict the man on 13 different theft and ethics charges. I guess everyone on the grand jury fell for all those old wives tales. Damn idots.

According to NSDQ, it’s probably just an old wives tale he told on himself. Move along. Nothing to see here.

If he admits to getting $250K from gambling, that’s a clever way for to launder illegal funds. Reminds me when the former Detroit Chief of Police Hart was arrested with $2.4 Million he stole from Drug confiscations. His excuse was the money was from his Friday night poker game with his buddies. When asked what the stakes were in these poker games, he said “10 to 25 cents” per bet. At that rate, it would have taken him 10,000 years of Fridays to win that amount. Turns out he was supporting THREE separate mistresses plus his wife.

OK, I get it. He reported gambling winnings. The article I read made it sound like he reported being paid by gambling and lottery interests as if he was working for them.

Winnings, he’s hit big scratch off tickets, the ethics report says 250000+, he’s won that much plus a million.

Anybody remember Sheriff Rex Smalley from Marshall County back in the 70s? Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Temptation when LOTS of $$ are in front of a man WILL lead him astray.

The master was Bob Collins from ol' Hi-Jackson. Got investigated a few times ,always squeaky clean. He was Bill Baxley's pal and campaign manager. Nuff said.

And look at Pickems. Co. The sheriff and his wife ran that county with a heavy hand. Ole karma is a biotch

Gambling winnings! Sounds like BS!

The evening news said he was the most re-elected sheriff in AL. Been in office 36 years I believe they said. That much time in a position of unchecked power will make a man think he's invincible.