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More Than 104 Years!

Former GC Mayor Convicted on 16 Counts of Election Fraud

Lisa Watson McCarty
Publisher


Charles S. Dougherty, Jr. was fined
$32,000 and handed down a 32-day
jail sentence. He is expected to appeal
the decision.

Last Friday Gate City’s former mayor was convicted of 16 counts of election fraud in relation to the May 4, 2004 municipal election.

Charles Dougherty Jr. was indicted by the Scott County Special Grand Jury in August 200 on 37 counts of election fraud dealing mainly with securing absentee votes. In February, the former mayor was acquitted on two counts of conspiring to interfere with voting rights.

He faces another 15 felony counts with the trial on those counts scheduled for October.

This time round the jury of six men and six women deliberated a little more than 90 minutes during their lunch hour on Friday, July 21 before rendering a unanimous guilty verdict.

They took more time to settle on how to penalize Dougherty and spent nearly 2 hours behind closed doors deciding his penalty.

During opening statements on Thursday morning, Scott County Special Prosecutor Joel Branscom told the jury he wasn’t seeking jail time for Dougherty but noted during closing arguments that the jury would know the specific punishment to fit the crime.

Branscom complained that Defense Attorney Carl McAfee tried to “muddy the waters” by reading new wording on the indictments but ultimately the case boiled down to how much cheating and corruption they [the jury] could handle.

“This case is about how much corruption you as representatives of this community are willing to take,” the prosecutor explained to the jury.

Dougherty was fined $2,000 on each of the 16 counts ($32,000) and ordered to serve 2 days in jail on each of the 16 counts (total of 32 days).He remains free on bond while waiting for his official sentencing. 

Although Thursday and Friday’s case involved 9 counts of aiding and abetting violations of absentee voting procedures and 9 counts of making false statements on absentee applications, Branscom agreed to drop two of the charges involving Vernoil Littrell but remained determined on the other 16 charges.

Littrell, who is confined to his home with a health condition, was listed as working a 13-hour at his job at Food Lion and was unable to testify in the trial.

Eight witnesses, many of them friends of Dougherty, testified they probably weren’t stricken by some of various ailments listed on their absentee applications. Nor were any of them vacationing in another state, an explanation cited on some of the other applications.

Although it was clear, many of the victims suffered from health problems, a few of them became upset when the prosecutor suggested they were homebound.

Lucian Kinkead, who resides in Gatewood Apartments, testified he didn’t fill out the application but did sign it at the request of former councilman Jack Anderson. He admitted that he had known Anderson for years and knew Dougherty on sight.

“Hell, no I didn’t know signing the form committed a felony,” Kinkead stated. “If I knew I could get in trouble, I wouldn’t have signed it.”

The World War II veteran, who suffers from several health problems, admitted he had voted absentee several times because Anderson asked him to but owned a car and could have driven himself to the polls on that May day.

Gary Falin also explained that Dougherty came to his home in April and asked him if he wanted to vote. Falin testified Dougherty drove him to the registrar’s office where he voted in person after the former mayor told a staff member in the office Falin would be traveling to West Virginia on election day.

“I didn’t tell him that,” Falin said. “I’ve never been to West Virginia and I had never planned to go there.”

Falin, who is employed by Wal-Mart contractor, commented that he voted for the candidates he wanted to but hadn’t really thought about voting until Dougherty came by his home.

After Branscom questioned whether he would lie in order to vote, Falin said wouldn’t lie in order to vote.

“I didn’t say anything,” Falin added. “Charles Dougherty did when he told them I was going to West Virginia.”

Penny Hammonds testified Dougherty drove her and her husband, Rickey, to vote at the registrar’s office in early April 2004. According to her testimony, Scott County Registrar Willie Kilgore filled out the absentee application for her and listed her reasons for wanting the absentee ballot was because the couple was going to Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Hammonds said that the former mayor told Kilgore Hammonds and her husband would be in Gatlinburg on election day.

“I’ve always wanted to go there, maybe I would get to this time,” Hammonds said.

She added her father, Alfred ‘Hagan’ Cassell, had asked her to vote and called Dougherty to assist the couple. Hammonds also said Dougherty showed which candidates to vote for because she “don’t know nothing about” voting.

Hammonds’ husband, Rickey, echoed his wife’s sentiments. He admitted that he suffered from a nervous condition and was physically disabled. Again Rickey Hammonds told the same story as his wife did including Dougherty suggesting to the registrar the couple was going to Gatlinburg.

“If I knew I was going to get into trouble by signing this paper, I wouldn't have," stated Ricky Hammonds, who clearly remembered signing his application in blue ink. “I’ve never been to Gatlinburg.”

Rickey Hammonds also testified that Scott County Registrar Kilgore filled out his paperwork and instructed Dougherty to show him how to vote. He recalled voting for Dougherty and Anderson but couldn’t remember who else he marked on the ballot.

Dougherty’s attorney Carl McAfee asked Rickey Hammonds about prescribed medications he might be taking that could affect his memory. Branscom countered that none of the medications her husband was taking would cause his wife, Penny’s memory to fail.

During her testimony, Shirley Smallwood verified that Dougherty brought an absentee application to her home in Weber City where she was living. Although she had lived in Gate City with her husband, after their divorce Smallwood had moved part of her furniture out of her Gate City home to Weber City.

She admitted to having crippling arthritis and bad headaches and to living at least part of the time in Weber City but voted absentee in the May 4, 2004 election.

McAfee argued that Smallwood lived part of the time in Gate City and part of the time in Weber City and added that she wanted to help Dougherty win re-election.

Smallwood’s mail ballot was mailed to her Gate City address and she filled out the ballot on her own.

McAfee explained that the registrar allowed Smallwood to vote because the office mailed her an absentee ballot.

Mavis Graham also admitted on the witness stand that she allowed Dougherty to fill out her application while she was cooking dinner.

According to court records, her reasons for voting absentee were due to a heart attack and being confined to her home. Graham explained to the prosecutor during his direct questioning she had had a heart attack in 1976 and was able to get out as much as she used to.

Graham said she was involved in a car accident in 2002 and her doctor had commented several times that she wasn’t as active as she used to be.

Branscom asked how she had come to court on that day and Graham said she drove herself.

Graham said she shopped for herself, met friends in Kingsport, Tenn. to eat out and generally liked to keep busy. She stressed that she wouldn’t lie for anyone because although she wasn’t confined to her home, she “didn’t get out much.”

Branscom countered that anyone could say they didn’t get out much anymore including him after the birth of his and his wife's child but that it didn’t prove he couldn’t leave his home.

Gladys Cleek stated that her son was married to Dougherty’s sister and although she owns two cars she did indeed suffer from arthritis. She recalled the day Dougherty dropped by her house, she was lying on the couch in her living room to ease the pain.

Cleek said she asked Dougherty to stop by after finding out from her homebound neighbor his intentions to bring absentee applications.

She admitted she wasn’t confined to her home but voting absentee would save her a trip to the polls on election day. On re-direct by Branscom, Cleek said she drove herself to vote at Gate City Middle School in the 2004 presidential election.

Alfred ‘Hagan’ Cassell told a similar story in that he, too, was driven to the registrar’s office by Dougherty. But Cassell said he originally wasn’t going to the office to vote and went to talk to the “Kilgore girls.”

After the application was completed by Assistant Registrar Tammy Presley, Dougherty said Cassell was going to be in the hospital on May 4, 2004 and Cassell signed the application.

He testified that the women employed in the office were his friends and he liked to go visit them.

“I didn’t know it was time to vote but they wanted to know if I wanted to,” Cassell said.

He admitted that he couldn’t read nor write very well and said Scott County Registrar Kilgore marked his ballot for him after consulting a piece of paper where Cassell said he wrote the names of the candidates he wanted.

Former electoral board member Sherry Wilson began the day’s testimony by helping the prosecutor introduce the absentee applications into evidence. Wilson stated that Virginia law does not allow absentee voting based on a voter’s age after Branscom pointed out many of the absentee voters were older.

During cross examination, McAfee suggested that all of absentee voters involved in the trial were because the electoral board and registrar didn’t do their jobs properly.

Wilson explained that only the electoral board secretary, registrar or assistant registrar were authorized to approve absentee applications and as the third member of the three-member board she had no authority to approve or deny applications.

When McAfee questioned whether Wilson knew if there was some type of relationship between staff in the registrar’s office and Dougherty to cause them to help him out, Wilson said she had no hard proof only rumor and speculation.

She also added there was no procedure in Virginia law to challenge absentee votes unless a contest suit was filed in the election. In this case, the challenger, Mark Jenkins contested the results of the election which were overturned by a three-member panel of judges appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court. Dougherty received 357 votes compared to Jenkins’ 355 vote total.

The candidates receiving the four highest vote counts were appointed to the Gate City Town Council. They, in turn, selected a fifth member and appointed Jenkins as mayor.

Betty Pendleton, a former clerk in the registrar’s office, also testified after she was subpoenaed by the defense. Branscom had originally subpoenaed Pendleton but released her shortly after the day began.

The prosecutor said he had no intentions of calling Pendleton to the stand because prosecution witnesses are immune from prosecution of their crimes.

McAfee became very upset and said he should have been advised of her release. He demanded Pendleton be subpoenaed for the defense as well as Scott County Registrar Willie Mae Kilgore.

Although McAfee planned to bring Pendleton back into the courtroom as his witness, Branscom granted her immunity to testify but not before some legal maneuvering in front of Judge Birg Sergent.

Branscom told the judge that Pendleton would have to advised of her rights prior to her testimony and that things she said in court might be used against her. Sergent also advised Pendleton that she could invoke her fifth amendment right to remain silent if her testimony might be viewed as incriminating.

Pendleton was informed of her rights and took the stand, still as a prosecution witness where she immediately invoked her Fifth Amendment rights. Several minutes later after McAfee stated he had no defense witnesses, Branscom granted immunity to Pendleton, which allowed her to testify for the defense.

Pendleton stated that when applications were brought in for ballots to be mailed, she used the computer system to access the voter’s information record. Once that application was approved, then a ballot and mailing label was printed. If the voter came in person, after their application was approved then they voted in person.

Pendleton testified that she couldn’t remember if Dougherty was present when some the day’s earlier witnesses had voted. She explained that lots of people were in and out of the office and it was difficult to remember everyone.

Pendleton admitted that Dougherty visited the office more than Jenkins but couldn’t remember exactly when the former mayor was there. During her 24 years of employment in the registrar’s office, Pendleton said she never favored one candidate over another

“I tried to be honest not because I was for Charles [Dougherty] to win this election,” she said.

Pendleton also said that the number of absentee votes cast in the election (158) was about the same as previous years. Dougherty received 138 of those votes cast while Jenkins only earned 20 absentee votes.

McAfee said during his closing argument that Dougherty hadn’t interfered with the voting rights of any of the witnesses and that other candidates received more absentee votes than he did.

He also pleaded with jury to that put the stigma of a felony conviction on his client.

"A felony conviction is a felony conviction," McAfee said. "It is an offense that hangs with you throughout your life. It will not go away."

McAfee also poked fun at the large number of media representatives in the courtroom including reporters from Richmond, Roanoke, Bristol, Kingsport and locally.

"For some reason or another, this is bigger news than what's going on in the Middle East, the way they've been covering it," McAfee said.

But Branscom summed it up by explaining the purpose of elections.

“This is what we are in the Middle East fighting for – free votes,” Branscom said. “This is what we believe in. It’s about how much corruption you are willing to accept in Scott County.”

According to Virginia Code 24.2.1012: "Any public official who knowingly violates any of the provisions of the law concerning absent voters and thereby aids in any way the illegal casting, or attempting to cast a vote, or who connives to nullify any provisions of this chapter in order that fraud may be perpetrated, shall forever be disqualified from holding office in the Commonwealth and shall forever be disqualified from exercising the right of franchise."

It is unclear whether Friday’s guilty verdict threatens Dougherty’s employment. He is currently employed by the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Duffield as a jailor.

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