An Oct. 12 trial date in Richmond County Superior Court is
set for Patsy Sheppard, 59. She has pleaded not guilty to three counts
of exploitation of an elderly person and one count of attempted
exploitation of an elderly person.
At a Tuesday afternoon hearing, attorneys sparred over
discovery issues and what evidence should be admissible at trial.
Sheppard is accused of taking more than $22,000 from the bank accounts
of Ophelia Beard last year. Beard died Dec. 23, not long after Sheppard
was indicted.
The documented evidence includes 1,300 pages of bank
documents. Defense attorney Kim Wilder complained the accusations lodged
in the indictment itself are so vague that it’s impossible to know what
acts she is supposed to defend Sheppard against.
On behalf of the state, Assistant Attorney General Lyndie
Freeman sought discovery from the defense – names and contact
information for possible witnesses and copies of any records the defense
intends to use.
While the defense has until five days before trial to
provide discovery, Freeman protested that a last minute dump of
information would leave the state at an unfair disadvantage. Judge James
G. Blanchard Jr. assured both attorneys that he would not let either
side be ambushed.
Freeman said in addition to bank records and footage of
security video from banks, she would have witnesses testify about
Beard’s state of mind last year.
One potential problem area might be Freeman’s intention to
call a bank employee who could testify that when she became suspicious
about Sheppard, she asked Beard who Sheppard was and Beard said she
didn’t know.
The hearing in the case will continue next week. The trial is expected to last for more than a week.
Pretrial hearings paving way for trial of Augusta woman accused of exploitation of an elderly person
1 comment:
I am always glad to see elder abuse prosecuted.
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