Louisiana Court Clerk Employee Charged With Stealing Cocaine From Evidence Locker; "Not the Brightest Crayon in the Box" Says Defense Attorney, Oh and His Mom's a Judge
Authorities believe he's hiding the profits he made from selling the cocaine
William Bates Colvin worked at the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court's Office when he was accused of stealing 22 kilos of cocaine and earning a profit of $200,000 off it. Colvin was indicted along with five others in December but has been cooperating with authorities, admitting to everything according to his defense lawyer. Colvin's mother is a state district judge in the area which has caused some controversy over which judge should preside over Colvin's case; many local judges have recused himself from the case and prosecutors are upset a state district judge who's a colleague of Colvin's mother has been assigned.
Authorities don't believe Colvin's been honest about the money, either, and suspect he's hiding a portion of the $200,000 profit he made. They've recorded jailhouse telephone conversations where Colvin refers to accounts at various banks. His defense attorney's defense? Colvin's a moron. Via The Advocate:
In interviews with detectives, Colvin said he spent some $20,000 on a vehicle and $30,000 on "an assortment of jewelry," the affidavit shows.
[Defense attorney Frank] Holthaus, however, said that Colvin is "not an accurate historian on the amounts of money and where it went because of his own drug-induced state of mind" at the time he was stealing the cocaine.
In a preview of the mitigating evidence he intends to offer at sentencing, Holthaus said Colvin had been suffering through substance-abuse issues, taking what he referred to as "Xanax whoppers."
"He's not the brightest crayon in the box and that has caused us a lot of trouble," Holthaus said, "but being stupid and being guilty ain't the same thing."
But being stupid is not disqualification from getting a job with the government, especially if your mom's already in it. Colvin was also caught on tape in a jailhouse conversation saying he expected to get a deal because of his mom's connections to the court. The defense attorney says he has faith in the local judges and doesn't think an outside judge (who was a colleague of Colvin's mom anyway) should have been appointed.
