By By Marianne Todd/The Meridian Star
March 21, 2001
Three area residents accused of bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars from an elderly man could face more charges or have charges dismissed, depending on the decision of a July grand jury.
Susan McElroy, Roy W. Rogers and Sara Rogers were scheduled for trial in Lauderdale County Circuit Court on Tuesday. The trial was postponed until the district attorney's office receives subpoenaed financial documents, said Lauderdale County District Attorney Bilbo Mitchell.
A grand jury had indicted McElroy, of Stonewall, on 68 counts of false pretense, charging she stole hundreds of thousand of dollars from A.L. Abrams, the elderly man for whom she cared. Roy Rogers, of Meridian, was indicted on 11 counts of false pretense and Sara Rogers, of Stonewall, was indicted on two counts of false pretense in connection with the case.
On Tuesday, Mitchell's office submitted a order to dismiss charges against Roy and Sara Rogers. But prosecutors said their action does not mean the case is over. It will be presented to a grand jury in July and decisions will be made then.
The July grand jury could choose to indict one, two or all three defendants again, or it could choose to indict more defendants in the case, he said.
McElroy's original indictment alleges that from February 1993 to February 1997, McElroy either wrote checks on Abrams' account or tricked him to signing the checks.
Abrams has since died.
One count of the indictment alleges McElroy wrote a single check on a J.C. Bradford account for $247,000. A state investigator said McElroy allegedly used the money to buy a camper, houses and cars.
While most of the checks were written for amounts ranging from $200 to $1,500, other checks were written for $90,000, $20,000 and $13,000.
A state official said McElroy was investigated after her granddaughter became suspicious of the excess money and called authorities.
Marianne Todd is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail her at mtodd@the meridianstar.com.