New trial for Slatton set July 28

Slatton, who left office in 2006 after deciding not to seek an eighth term in office, was one vote shy of being convicted on several of the theft charges, according to several jurors from her first trial in November. Jurors who spoke to the Southern Standard flatly accused one of their fellow jurors as being a Trojan Horse on the jury as she refused to even consider any criminal conviction against the longtime public servant despite the evidence.

The holdout juror had prompted some speculation that there could be an attempt to change venue of the trial or to have an out-of-town jury bused in to hear the new trial this summer. However, it is believed prosecutors will go ahead with a Warren County jury given the law which restricts the state from asking for special juries or change of venue.

As for a pre-trial settlement, there is no word if an offer will be made for a plea agreement by prosecutors. An earlier attempt to get Slatton a pre-trial diversion was blocked by prosecutors prior to her first trial.

A pre-trial diversion would have been basically a dismissal of the case and would have not forced Slatton to pay back any county funds. Prosecutors allege Slatton wrongly took over $30,000.

While prosecutors plan to take the case to trial this summer if an acceptable agreement cannot be reached, the amount of evidence against Slatton will likely not be as great since she no longer faces charges for paying daughter and employee Gaye Lentz for work she did not perform. Both Slatton and Lentz faced charges for theft back in November with prosecutors saying Lentz was paid by the county months after she had taken another job.

However, the cases involving Lentz were thrown out against both Lentz and Slatton because the statute of limitations had expired prior to Lentz being indicted, meaning jurors will likely not hear about the allegation pertaining to Lentz. Instead, the new trial will deal strictly with funds paid to Brown over a period of years prior to her death in 2005.

Special prosecutor Glenn Funk of Nashville is prosecuting the case because former District Attorney Dale Potter, who obtained the indictments against Lentz and Slatton before he left office, was formerly married to Lentz.

Jurors who spoke to the Southern Standard flatly accused one of their fellow jurors as being a Trojan Horse on the jury as she refused to even consider any criminal conviction against the longtime public servant despite the evidence.