Blakely sentenced to 3 years in jail, 2 years of unsupervised probation
Former Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely was sentenced today to 36 months in jail followed by two years of unsupervised probation for his conviction earlier this month on two felony charges.
No fines or restitution were imposed. The sentence will be served in a jail outside of Limestone County.
Defense attorneys plan an appeal. An appeal bond of $50,000 was set, which would allow the sheriff to post the bail and be released from jail during the appeals process.
The sentence was determined by Judge Pamela Baschab, who presided over Blakely’s trial in Limestone County Circuit Court.
Prosecutors had sought three years in jail for Blakely, 70. They said Blakely should get to serve time in a county jail rather than state prison because of his law enforcement background, but that he shouldn’t serve that time in the Limestone County Jail that he ran for decades. The state had also sought $14,000 in fines and restitution from Blakely.
A Limestone County jury on Aug. 2 convicted Blakely of first-degree theft of property and using his official position or office for personal gain, both Class B felonies. Blakely, who was the longest serving sheriff in the state until his automatic removal, had been held in the Limestone County Jail since his conviction.
