HOUSTON COUNTY, Ala. (WTVY) – A theft charge facing former Gordon, Alabama mayor Elbert Melton has been dismissed.
He had been accused of stealing $1,700 from the Gordon Senior Citizens Center to purchase a vehicle for his son, according to previous WTVY reports.
The bank returned the check he wrote because Melton did not have authority to sign the document, per allegations.
However, it appears that may not have been the case.
“We believe a banking error is to blame and there was no intention by Mr. Melton to steal,” said Billy Joe Sheffield II, who is Melton’s attorney.
Sheffield praised Houston County District Attorney Pat Jones who requested that the charge be dropped after taking a closer look at the allegations and associated financial forensic evidence. Melton would have gone on trial this week.
“We certainly believe justice has prevailed,” Sheffield told WTVY News 4.
Melton was convicted in 2019 of voter fraud related to his election as Gordon mayor and received a 12-month jail sentence.
He had been removed from office following his conviction.
A jury found him guilty of rigging absentee during the 2016 election which he won by a 16-vote margin.
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