CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — It’s off to prison for David Lynn Patton of Knox.
Bail for Patton, of Knox, was revoked today after a special hearing before Judge James G. Arner in the Clarion County Courthouse, and he was immediately transported to Clarion County Jail and will later be transferred to a State Prison.
Patton was convicted on November 6, 2012, for theft of over $250,000 from his 88-year old aunt, Betty Wetzel. He was out on bail because of an appeal Pennsylvania Superior Court. A September 19 ruling by Superior Court upheld the original sentence of 30 to 60 months made in the Clarion Court of Common Courts.
Clarion County Assistant District Attorney Drew Welsh said Patton began serving his sentence immediately and was transported to Clarion County Jail. He will be transferred at a later date to a State Prison in Pittsburgh where he will be classified and then sent to another State Prison, somewhere in Pennsylvania. Welsh said the decision on which prison is not made in Clarion.
The investigation was initiated in March 2010 when Wetzel, who lived at Clarview Nursing Home, contacted the Clarion Area Agency on Aging after she was told that her account with the assisted living facility was overdue. She has passed away after Patton was found guilty.
After an initial investigation Toni Reott Forsythe, of the Clarion Area Agency on Aging, and Pennsylvania State Police Trooper William Craddock looked further into the matter. Investigators determined that Patton, who was appointed as his aunt’s power of attorney, cashed in his aunt’s investment accounts and a life insurance policy and deposited the money into her checking accounts. Patton unlawfully cashed several checks written out to him and also wrote several checks out to businesses.
Clarion County Assistant District Attorney Drew Welsh prosecuted the original case and represented the Commonwealth in the appeal.
Court documents show an “Application for Reargument” was filed by Patton in Pennsylvania Superior Court on October 3. The application has not yet been reviewed.
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