William Paul Hunter, charged with abuse of adults and two counts of exploitation, pled guilty to charges Thursday in the 13th Judicial District Court in Magnolia.
Deputy Prosecutor Ryan Rainwater said the state’s proof against Hunter is that on April 4, 2018 and on Oct. 26, 2018, Hunter took an unauthorized credit card from his father, who was a resident of what was then the Community Compassion Center (now Magnolia Health & Rehabilitation).
Hunter owes $7,278 in restitution and was given five years’ probation.
He also has to pay all court cost and fees associated with the crime.
Because the case involved abuse of an elderly person, the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office was also involved on John Hunter’s behalf.
He is paying $125 per week of restitution to the county now.
According to the affidavit filed Nov. 9, 2019, Community Compassion Center Administrator Patricia Bullard reported to the Office of Long-Term Care that William Hunter had made unauthorized withdrawals on the account of his father.
On March 15, 2019, Bullard was interviewed by authorities. She advised that the senior Hunter had been admitted to the facility on April 18, 2018 but said no payments had been made to the facility, the affidavit reads.
“Bullard started the process of applying for Medicaid on behalf of the resident; she discovered this theft when she obtained three months of the resident’s bank statements,” the affidavit reads. “The records indicated that William Hunter was added to the account on 03-02-2018. The records showed withdrawals and purchases to various merchants, including Walmart and Best Value Rental.”
The suspect’s father gave a statement on March 20, 2019 that his son was not authorized to make these charges.
Video was obtained from Walmart and Best Value Rental showing William Hunter using the debit card on his father’s account numerous times.
Additional records were obtained from Farmers Bank. The records indicate that $4,563.08 was charged on the debit card from April 19, 208 to October 26, 2018.
“On May 6, 2019, William Hunter was interviewed after being advised of his Miranda rights in writing,” the affidavit reads. “Williams admitted to making the unauthorized charges on this account, and agreed that he exploited his father.”
William Hunter’s attorney, Gary McDonald of El Dorado, said his client would rather pay the $7,285 in restitution than go to trial.
“There is a real
question in my mind if he was really guilty,” McDonald said. “He was
actually placed on the card by his father.”
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