Man sentenced to 20 years for exploiting 85-year-old woman

Willie Norris Williams

A Dothan man received a 20-year split sentence, with three years to serve in prison, after he pleaded guilty to the financial exploitation and elderly abuse of an 85-year-old woman.

Attorney Tom Brantley said his client, 51-year-old Willie Norris Williams, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of financial exploitation of the elderly.

Brantley said his client received what’s referred to as a 20-year split with three years to serve in prison. He said the court also ordered his client to serve the split sentence concurrently with another similar sentence out of Coffee County.

Geneva police investigators arrested Williams in October 2014, and charged him with felony exploitation of the elderly and felony theft by deception. Geneva Police Capt. Ricky Morgan told the Eagle at the time of the arrests that Williams trimmed the azaleas around the 85-year-old victim’s house and then presented her with a bill for $2,350. Morgan said Williams’ yard job only took him a few hours, earning him an hourly rate of $517.50.

Court records show Williams pleaded guilty earlier this year to similar charges in Coffee County. Williams received a 20-year split sentence in January with three years to serve in the Alabama Department of Corrections for two counts of felony financial exploitation of the elderly.

Enterprise police arrested Williams in April 2014 on the two felony charges. Williams was ordered to pay $8,000 restitution to the victim, who he said was the same Enterprise woman in both cases.

Williams became the second Wiregrass resident this week to plead guilty to felony financial exploitation of the elderly charges.

Karen LaRoche, 49, of Abbeville, pleaded guilty earlier this week at the Henry County Courthouse to a financial exploitation of the elderly charge involving the theft of over $20,000 from her elderly mother. LaRoche received a 5-year prison sentence, but has a probation hearing scheduled for next month.

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Man sentenced to 20 years for exploiting 85-year-old woman