- August 30th, 2006, 2:07 pm
#27523
i would say mr. hutcherson fared pretty well. i pray that he can get right with God and pay the people he stole from.
Former Mayor sentenced
By Conor Reilly
The News & Advance
August 30, 2006
ROANOKE - Former Mayor Carl Hutcherson will avoid jail time, facing instead six months of house arrest, 36 months probation and 200 hours of community service.
He was sentenced in federal court in Roanoke today.
He also was fined $8,200 and has to make restitution to his two Social Security victims of $4,000 apiece.
"I let my city down, I let my church down, I let my family down, but most of all I let my God down," Hutcherson told U.S. District Judge James C. Turk.
A jury found Hutcherson guilty in May of committing five counts of fraud, lying to federal officials and obstruction of justice.
Since his conviction, he has lost his position as mayor and as pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church, checked himself into a residential program called Elim Home, and put his funeral home business up for sale.
Attorneys for both sides now have 10 days to decide if they will appeal the conviction to a higher court.
Several local figures and friends of Hutcherson were on hand for the 2½-hour court proceeding, including James Coleman, Garnell Stamps, City Council member Ceasor Johnson and former City Council member Ed Barksdale.
While sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of up to four years, Turk explained in court that he went outside the guidelines because of testimony, letters and other evidence citing Hutcherson’s community involvement.
Attorneys for Hutcherson said in court filings that the former mayor has "accepted full responsibility" for his actions and his doctor wrote that a prison stay "would be medically dangerous."
A jury convicted Hutcherson of stealing a donation from the Falwell ministries intended for a church charity, and using the money to pay down his debts. He was also found guilty of stealing from two Social Security recipients whose finances he was supposed to be in charge of. He used that money to pay bills, and buy a television and a stereo for himself.
Former Mayor sentenced
By Conor Reilly
The News & Advance
August 30, 2006
ROANOKE - Former Mayor Carl Hutcherson will avoid jail time, facing instead six months of house arrest, 36 months probation and 200 hours of community service.
He was sentenced in federal court in Roanoke today.
He also was fined $8,200 and has to make restitution to his two Social Security victims of $4,000 apiece.
"I let my city down, I let my church down, I let my family down, but most of all I let my God down," Hutcherson told U.S. District Judge James C. Turk.
A jury found Hutcherson guilty in May of committing five counts of fraud, lying to federal officials and obstruction of justice.
Since his conviction, he has lost his position as mayor and as pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church, checked himself into a residential program called Elim Home, and put his funeral home business up for sale.
Attorneys for both sides now have 10 days to decide if they will appeal the conviction to a higher court.
Several local figures and friends of Hutcherson were on hand for the 2½-hour court proceeding, including James Coleman, Garnell Stamps, City Council member Ceasor Johnson and former City Council member Ed Barksdale.
While sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of up to four years, Turk explained in court that he went outside the guidelines because of testimony, letters and other evidence citing Hutcherson’s community involvement.
Attorneys for Hutcherson said in court filings that the former mayor has "accepted full responsibility" for his actions and his doctor wrote that a prison stay "would be medically dangerous."
A jury convicted Hutcherson of stealing a donation from the Falwell ministries intended for a church charity, and using the money to pay down his debts. He was also found guilty of stealing from two Social Security recipients whose finances he was supposed to be in charge of. He used that money to pay bills, and buy a television and a stereo for himself.
- By ECC29