Troy Keller: A Sex Offender "Too Short" on Brains

Jasper Troy Keller is a 24 year-old Cherokee, Alabama, resident who sports a tattoo reading "too short" and tells his family that he's above the law. The Colbert County District Attorney's Office tells people that Troy is someone who likes young boys...and not in any good way.

In 2016, Keller was charged in Colbert County with the First and Second Degree Sodomy of a 13 year-old boy. Those charges mean that 1) the boy was not old enough to consent even if he had wanted to and 2) the sodomy was forcible. 

It took three years, but in June of this year the wheels of justice meted out its sentence on Keller - he was allowed to plead to one charge of the Second Degree Sexual Abuse of a Minor. Now Jazzbo is on the sex offender registry for life.

Since that time, Keller has gotten on with his life, marrying an older woman with two young daughters. In February, this odd couple will be welcoming a daughter of their own. The happy sex offender also continued to work, either for pay or pats on the back, at Cherokee football games until he was reported. He told family and friends that the courts gave him special dispensation.

Troy Keller must also think Mark Zuckerberg has given him special permission to maintain a Facebook page. When FB previously removed his profile, he promptly put it back up. What else is Jazzbo doing that he shouldn't?

Parents, no matter where you live, watch your children. You don't know how many individuals out there think they're just special enough to assault them. 

The Tragic Murder of Bree Rutland

One definition of "tragedy" is a play in which the hero's downfall is caused by an imperfection in his otherwise flawless and heroic character. This is truly the story of Brioni Rutland, known to his friends as "Bree." Below is an account of Bree's murder taken from Pen-N-Sword articles:

The morning of Tuesday, November 26th, Brioni Jamaal Rutland was at Deshler High School assisting with the athletic program. Around eleven o’clock, he told associates he was going to Krystal in Florence to meet some friends for lunch. He never arrived.

Early on Wednesday, Bree’s girlfriend Morgan Taylor Presley notified the police that the former Deshler football standout was missing. Police soon used the GPS on his cell phone to locate it in a sewer on Wood Avenue. Along with the phone, police found Bree’s wallet. At that point, the police went public with their search for the 27 year-old Tuscumbia resident.

By Thanksgiving night, authorities had found Bree’s gold Chevrolet Impala at Village Apartments in Sheffield, but it yielded no new clues as to Rutland’s whereabouts. On Friday morning, hikers reported a large amount of blood on the Old Railroad Bridge in Sheffield. At two o’clock the next afternoon, a search team found a body that family identified as Bree’s.

Local authorities have a suspect in custody and hope to answer both the questions of where and why Brioni Jamaal Rutland, aka Bree, was murdered. The 27 year-old Deshler volunteer coach was last seen at Deshler High School around eleven o’clock Tuesday morning.

Pools on football games or other sports are common in today’s offices, as well as fraternities, and just about any venue where the males of the species gather. Was it an argument over a football pool debt that cost Brioni Jamaal Rutland his life?

A source with the Tuscumbia Police Department has indicated a debt of a few hundred dollars won in such a pool was the basis for the original disagreement between Rutland and Jeremy LeShun Williams (pictured below), a former basketball teammate of Rutland at Deshler High School. Authorities have copies of text messages between the two men that indicate Rutland expected to pick up money from someone on the day he disappeared.

A life destroyed for a few hundred dollars.

Lonell D. Hankins, 31, of Tuscumbia (pictured above) has been shot in an early Tuesday morning altercation and airlifted to Huntsville in critical condition. Hankins is a cousin to Bree Rutland, recent Tuscumbia murder victim, and played football at Deshler High School in 1999 and 2000. Hankins was allegedly shot by Gregory Williams, brother to Jeremy LaShun Williams who has been arrested in the murder of Rutland. 

Hankins recovered; Williams was convicted of Felony Murder and sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole. He will be eligible for consideration in November 2028.

Final Curtain: Brioni “Bree” Rutland was rumored to be heavily into gambling. Whether a major Shoals bookie or just a regular player in football pools, Bree’s life was reportedly taken over a gambling debt owed him by his assailant. Rutland regularly Tweeted as “GRIND2SHINE.” He had 386 followers who were personally approved by him. One of his followers had recently tweeted “cant live this life!” 

Did this become an apt eulogy for “Bree” Rutland?

Dr. David B. Dickerson: The UNA Rapist?

In 2006, long time Maryland senator Paul Sarbanes had decided to retire, and 28 individuals entered the race for the coveted vacancy. Among the Democratic candidates was Dr. David B. Dickerson whose age was listed as 43 and whose occupation was identified as engineer. Dickerson ultimately came out ninth in the Democratic field, but not before his campaign provided voters with quite a bit of drama.

In 2003, Dickerson was traveling on business in Latvia where he met a 16 year old girl, a girl who was 24 years his junior. Dickerson officially stated that the relationship didn’t begin until Anna was 18, but by 2006 the two were married and living in Sparks, Maryland.

Then during the fateful 2006 campaign, Anna accused her husband of assault. Specifically, the young Latvian woman stated her husband held her against her will in their apartment, denied her food, and repeatedly raped her. David Dickerson countered that his wife was mentally ill. He was officially charged with second-degree rape, fourth-degree sex offense, and misdemeanor second-degree assault. In Maryland, second degree rape indicates a rape without excess violence or where the victim was drugged or otherwise incapacitated.

The charges were dropped after Dickerson’s attorneys pointed out what they called inconsistencies in Anna’s account of the alleged assaults. By this point, Anna Dickerson had a protection from abuse order against her husband, but it was David Dickerson who had his wife arrested for trespassing when she attempted to visit him at his parents’ home in Richmond, Virginia.

David Dickerson told the press that the whole affair was a “Romeo and Juliet” type scenario and showed he could take the strain of politics. Never mind that Juliet was just 13 and that it’s widely presumed Romeo was only 16. Dickerson received just under 4K of the Maryland Democratic vote or .67 of one percent.

Perhaps the saddest part of this sordid tale is that David and Anna Dickerson had a child who was three months-old at the time of the alleged rapes. What happened to the infant after the dissolution of the marriage? David Dickerson sent it to live in Latvia with Anna’s mother.

*****

David Brian Dickerson PhD first came to the University of North Alabama as a visiting professor in September 2015. From the university’s press release:

Dr. David Dickerson has recently joined the College of Business as a Visiting Professor of Marketing & Global Business. He brings with him vast global experience as a former executive at Motorola GmbH and SONY, where he spearheaded business development and research in emerging markets throughout Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, India, Vietnam, Ukraine, Russia and Central Asia. He most recently lived and worked in Kazakhstan.

His degrees include a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School (UK); a Master of Administrative Science in Information Technology Management from The Johns Hopkins University, Carey Business School; and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Loyola University, Sellinger, S.J., School of Business.

His expertise is in cross-cultural marketing strategy and global sales. He is happy to be in Florence, and shares the vision of reconciling regional values with the need to expand upon global awareness. “The reason why I chose UNA,” he says. “Is because I see it as a golden opportunity to expand the international business and global program, which is my background.”

Now Dickerson, 54 in 2017, was accused of assaulting, then raping a student he took on an academic trip to Orlando, Florida, in November 2015. Specifically the female student, then 19, alleged Dickerson doctored her drink with a date rape drug. It later emerged that Dickerson had been accused of assault and rape at a previous position and that UNA had not done due diligence in initiating a standard background check.

Dickerson left the university at the end of his contract and began teaching in Colorado at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, an institution with an enrollment of slightly over 20,000 students. The female student, identified only as Jane Doe, took an “academic leave.” Her suit named both Dickerson and the university which she says failed to take even a statement from her and never notified the police. 

Dr. Jerome Gafford is the director of the University of North Alabama’s Center for Professional Selling. In the fall of 2015, Gafford was scheduled to help chaperon/oversee a student trip to Orlando, Florida, for what a lawsuit calls a UNA sponsored Intern Sales Conference/Competition. For whatever reason, Gafford was unable to attend, and Dr. David Dickerson was left as the only UNA employee to oversee the group of four young people. The group included a 19 year-old junior who was taking Dickerson’s class in sales, a class that only he taught.

The young woman and her attorneys Rodney Slusher and Terrinell Lyons allege in a suit against the university that Dickerson joined her while she was swimming in the hotel pool, where he began to touch and grope her. She further states she left the pool for the nearby hot tub where others were present. Dickerson then followed her and again began to touch her against her will. The marketing student then states that she left the area completely, returning to her room.

Later the same day, Dickerson allegedly followed the victim and another female UNA student to a Universal theme park, where he picked them up and returned them to their hotel. He proceeded to take them to dinner where the second student left the group, stating she would soon return. The young woman failed to come back, and “Jane Doe” states she began to feel odd. Dickerson then assisted her back to the hotel where the rape reportedly took place.

Once back in Florence, the two young men who had attended the Florida conference told Dr. Jerome Gafford of the incident. Gafford then informed Dr. Jana Beaver, head of the marketing department, who contacted the alleged victim. Beaver instructed Doe to stay away from classes and the downtown Florence area where she might be apt to encounter Dickerson. According to the lawsuit, it was during this time that Dr. Jerome Gafford informed Jane Doe that the university had not performed a background check on Dickerson.

Jane Doe then sought help from university mental health counselor Jennifer Berry, who recommended a medical leave for the student. Vice President David Shields needed to sign off on Berry’s recommendation, but refused to do so. He instead instructed the victim to take an academic leave.

Some months into the leave, Jane Doe received the following message from David Dickerson:

“It has been over six months since we spoke, so I am sorry. Much to my dismay, I was compelled by UNA not to speak with anyone! What crazy, stupid and parochial minded people. Either way, I just want to say that aside from childish behavior, I command (sic) a great respect for you, and will be happy now to keep in touch with you! Friends forever! Feel free to contact me! Your friend, David.”

At the time of the assault, Dr. Kenneth Kitts was president of the university and Dr. David Shields was Vice President of Student Affairs. The university initially refused to comment on the suit. 

Then the institution issued a brief statement, allegedly written by either Kitts or Shields, in which the accuser was blamed. It was taken off line a few days later and replaced with a more moderate statement, but not before several students marched in protest and spoke at a rally at Harrison Plaza. 

The whole episode took an even more bizarre turn when the now unemployed David Dickerson sued the university: Former University of North Alabama visiting professor David B. Dickerson filed a complaint with the state Board of Adjusters in which he asked for almost seven million dollars. Dickerson specifically felt the Kenneth Kitts answer to a lawsuit against the university defamed him. Shortly after the lawsuit by a former female student of Dickerson came to light, he lost his then current teaching position in Colorado.

Dickerson is pictured above when he ran for Congress from Maryland. Below is a photo as he appears today.

Dickerson’s claim came to light just as Kitts asked the state legislature for more funding. UNA is also facing lawsuits by at least one current employee on the grounds of a civil rights violation.

As of the date of this publication, neither lawsuit has been settled.

Information taken from PNS articles previously published...

Criminal County Constables

It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Sometimes those sworn to uphold the law are the ones to break it. Here's a 2013 PNS article on county constables, specifically Franklin County constables. It would appear that in 2013, half the constables in Franklin were under investigation themselves (Note: As this is republished, the article is four years old, and there is no current investigation of anyone mentioned here):

Not all Alabama counties have constables. Franklin is among the counties that do; currently four constables serve, but just what is their mission/job description? Franklin County writer and former district attorney John Pilati defines the office thusly:

“Under Alabama law, constables are considered peace officers with the same law enforcement authority as other officers within their county. Constables are elected by voting precinct, so Franklin County could have as many as 24 elected constables, but the numbers have never reached that level. A large reason is that constable is a non-salaried position.”

While there is no salary, the constables share a yearly 15K appropriation. There are currently four elected constables in Franklin County:

Bobby Brown – Russellville II 

Ray Hill – Tharptown (Currently under indictment for Sexual Abuse) 

Kyle Palmer – Red Bay (Currently the subject of a RBPD internal affairs investigation) - not pictured

Earl Potter – Russellville I - not pictured

Brown also works as Russellville Police Department’s chaplain, while Palmer is a sergeant with the Red Bay force. PNS received a question as to a possible conflict of interest in Palmer’s case. Is it legal for Kyle Palmer to hold the office of constable while an active member of the Red Bay Police Force? Below is a link to the duties and qualifications of an Alabama Constable. Nowhere is a conflict of interest addressed. If any readers have questions, they should contact Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing and/or the Alabama Ethics Commission.

Besides Franklin, the following counties still maintain the office of Constable: Jefferson, Marion, Mobile, Shelby, Walker, & Winston.

The Tragic Life and Death of "Fat Sam"

Sam John Passarella was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1945. Sam's family moved to Lawrence County, Tennessee, while he was still a young teenager, and the boy who was now known as "Fat Sam" found what amounted to local fame performing with his band at civic events and sock hops. 

After high school, Sam moved to Nashville looking for work as a backup musician or even as the leader of his own band. For whatever reason, fame eluded Fat Sam who alternated his time between Nashville and Lawrenceburg.

By the 1980s, Sam had fallen in with the wrong crowd. The year 1982 proved eventful for Fat Sam, but for all the wrong reasons. Along with James Howard Turner and Earl Carroll, Sam purchased some bogus silver from a Nashville businessman, Monte Hudson. From court documents:

"When they learned that the silver was not genuine, they abducted Mr. Hudson and his wife at gunpoint from the parking lot of a Nashville motel. Mr. Turner forced Mrs. Hudson into his car, and Messrs. Passarella and Carroll took Mr. Hudson away in another car. Mr. Turner released Mrs. Hudson the next day. Mr. Turner and Mr. Passarella were indicted for two counts of kidnapping and their trials were severed. Mr. Carroll accepted a sentence of two years for kidnapping in exchange for his testimony against Mr. Passarella, who was convicted and received a sentence of seventy years imprisonment. Prior to Mr. Turner's trial, Mr. Hudson's corpse was discovered, and the facts indicated that he was killed by Mr. Passarella."

Fat Sam was incarcerated in the Tennessee State Prison system for almost four decades before he was paroled. From a 2015 Pen-N-Sword article:

"Sam John Passarella was no angel. The Brooklyn, NY, native arrived in Nashville in the 1960s to make it big in the music industry. Instead he made it big in crime.

Third from Right in Band Libido

Passarella, 69, spent 30 odd years in a Tennessee prison on charges related to drugs, forgery, kidnapping, and murder. During his stay, the Los Angeles Times reported on his gardening accomplishments. He was released in 2013 and removed to Lawrenceburg where he had family, joining the local music scene. Last October, his band played the Oktoberfest in Loretto.

Passarella in Trilby with Band Survivor

On May 19th, a relative found Sam John Passarella murdered near his home on the Florence Road. Police are saying little but are asking for the public’s help. Someone knows something; in the mean time Passarella’s family is grieving a man they spent too little time with."

By the time Sam Passarella was released from prison, he may have been older and wiser, but he still loved his music. He often played with his band Survivor at local benefits and other functions. He moved into a subsidized apartment complex for those over 65 and made new friends...one new friend too many.

The last gig Sam mentioned on social media was at Nana's Pizzeria in Loretto in mid-April 2015. Four weeks later he was found dead in his apartment. While police may have initially thought Sam John Passarella was killed by some of his old Nashville crowd or a friend of Monte Hudson, one by one the suspects were eliminated.

After almost a year, an arrest was finally made. From a Lawrence County press release:

"On February 5th, 2016 Detectives with the Lawrenceburg Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agents arrested a subject responsible for the Murder of Sam John Passarella that occurred in Lawrenceburg, TN on May 19, 2015.

Detectives have worked extensively during the joint investigation and have discovered evidence linking Crystal Gregoire (35) of Lawrenceburg to the crime.
On February 5, 2016 a special session of the Lawrence County Grand Jury met and reviewed evidence in the case before handing down Indictments against Gregoire for 1st Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault, Tampering with Evidence and Theft. Gregoire is being held in the Giles County Jail."

Gregoire's trial was in April 2017, more than a year after her arrest. From Lawrenceburg Now:

"After hearing testimony throughout the week, jurors returned a guilty verdict against thirty-seven-year-old Crystal Gregoire in the death of Sam John Passarella, age 69.

Passarella’s badly beaten body was found inside of his Crockett Senior Housing apartment on Old Florence Road on May 19, 2015. He was lying across his bed with a bread knife in his right hand and had sustained numerous blows to the face, head, neck and torso from a claw hammer before being stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife.

Gregoire was indicted on murder, aggravated assault and theft charges on February 5, 2016 after the hammer, knives, Passarella's empty prescription bottles, and other evidence was found buried behind the home where she had resided at the time of his death.

Gregoire entered a plea of guilty on the count of aggravated assault. During deliberations jurors found her not guilty on one count of theft, not guilty on one count of felony murder, and guilty as charged on one count of first degree murder.

The first degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence. Attorneys are working on an agreement that will allow a three year sentence on the aggravated assault count to run concurrently with that life sentence."

Sam John Passarella...he never really had a chance to live.

Jessica Broadfoot & Danger Grisham - A Lethal Combination

The following accounts of the Jessica Broadfoot murder, investigation, and legal proceedings originally appeared in Pen-N-Sword and have been used with permission:

Timeline:

May 8 – Arrested outside Atlanta for DUI
May 13 – With victim in motel room
June 27 – Posted on Facebook: I had one of my retarded exs texting me every five seconds last night.
June 29 – Found wearing bloody clothes in truck with knife, both also soaked in blood.

The day after Jessica Bevis-Broadfoot’s 2013 death, Homajean Grisham III was charged with Felony Murder. Today those charges in the brutal stabbing death have been upgraded to Capital Murder. Grisham has given a brief confession to authorities, but it remains to be seen if he will claim self-defense or insanity or other plea that will necessitate a trial. His chance at 1.5 million dollar bail has now been revoked and he will not see freedom unless acquitted at the trial to be scheduled later.

The Arrest:

Above is a mugshot of Homajean Grisham III from May 8th of this year when he was arrested outside Atlanta for Driving Under the Influence and other more minor traffic related offenses. Now the 34 year old resident of Cherokee has been arrested for Felony murder in the death of Jessica Nicole Bevis Broadfoot, 32, of North Florence. Her body was found in a vacant pasture at the 420 acre Grisham family farm on Fossik Lane in Cherokee.

The father of a nine year old girl from a previous relationship, Homajean preferred to be called Lee or his nickname “Danger.” Standing over six feet tall and weighing 200 pounds, Grisham could obviously be a danger if he so intended. Authorities state that Bevis-Broadfoot was beaten as well as stabbed.

Public records show that Homajean III was named for his grandfather, a co-owner of a large building supply store in Cherokee as well as a director with both Farm Bureau and Colonial Bank. He was also the first Shoals resident to be appointed to the Alabama Forestry Commission. Homajean Sr., who passed away in January 1989, also lends his name to a Northwest Shoals Community College scholarship for deserving graduates of Cherokee High School. It would appear that just having the same name was not enough to lead his grandson down a productive path.

Grisham is now being held in the Colbert County Jail on bail of 1.5 million dollars. This could be lowered early next week if his attorneys manage to schedule a reduction hearing. The amount is possibly this high due to his family’s assets making the prospect of flight extremely plausible.


Danger Had Many Faces:

Today is alleged killer Homajean “Danger” Grisham’s 35th birthday. He’ll be spending it in jail unless his family can come up with 1.5 million in bail. Danger’s Facebook page has a collection of snapshots of the Colbert County farming heir, most of them along the same theme. Besides these more prosaic shots, there’s also a photo of his crotch and a German Shepherd urinating on a scantily clad woman.

Homagean Grisham III, sometimes known as “Lee” or “Danger,” now faces a grand jury in the stabbing death of his on-again off-again girlfriend Jessica Bevis Broadfoot. PNS has learned that on the night she last saw Grisham, Broadfoot left her cell phone with her mother to keep. She reportedly stated that Grisham would scroll through her recent calls and become angered if she had contact with any males he didn’t know.

Authorities in California have indicated they will not extradite Grisham on pending charges of drug trafficking; however, they may reopen an investigation into the death of Grisham’s former girlfriend who died of a drug overdose while he was in the process of tying up loose ends at his former residence.

Homajean Grisham III may have been living a small town life at his family farm in Cherokee, but he had recently been residing as far from that Colbert County town as possible. It was only a matter of months ago that Grisham was living in Costa Mesa, California, where he ran afoul of the law for a crime of violence. On probation, Grisham returned to north Alabama where his parents and two children live.

Sources say it was Grisham’s father, Homajean Jr. aka Butch, who reported the murder of Jessica Bevis Broadfoot to authorities. When found, Grisham was reportedly covered in his girlfriend’s blood, as was the interior of his truck. Officers reported finding a bloody knife in his vehicle, as well as a second knife covered in blood lying by the victim’s body. It’s believed that Grisham’s record of violence is such that prosecutors can obtain a sentence of Life Without Parole even if Grisham is charged with only Felony Murder.


A Plea:

Homajean Grisham III, aka Lee, is currently under indictment for the murder of Jessica Nicole Broadfoot. On Thursday afternoon, Grisham, the grandson of a noted Colbert county philanthropist Homajean Grisham Sr., pleaded not guilty by reason of mental defect. Will it wash?

Such defenses rarely do save a defendant, but what does it mean? From a legal website: A person is considered insane and is not responsible for criminal conduct if, at the time of the offense, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, he was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts. Grisham’s trial date has not yet been set.


A Sentence:

Cherokee native Homajean Grisham III has accepted a plea deal in the Colbert County murder of his girlfriend Jessica Nicole Bevis Broadfoot. Grisham will be sentenced to 30 years and be given time for the almost three years he has served while awaiting trial.

The 37 year old Grisham will be eligible for parole consideration in seven years; however, any early release will almost surely be opposed by the Colbert County district attorney’s office.


A New Reality for Danger:

The man who dubbed himself “Danger” now rates only a medium security ranking in the Alabama Prison System. Homajean Grisham III, also known as the more innocuous “Lee,” is currently housed in the Bibb Correctional Center.

Grisham, now 39, pleaded guilty to Felony Murder in Colbert County in May of last year. The Cherokee man received a 30 year sentence in the death of his girlfriend Jessica Broadfoot, for which he receives no Correctional Incentive Time. He will be eligible for parole at some point, but no date has yet been set. His end of sentence date is June 22, 2043. Assuming Danger Grisham doesn’t make parole, he will be 65 years old when he returns to his North Alabama home.

Methodist Minister & Convicted Pedophile Oliver Brazelle

The following account has been taken from various websites and used with permission:

From January 2014:

Oliver Brazelle, 78, is facing at least three charges of sexual impropriety with underage males. Much has recently been written about these events, but little of Brazelle himself. Here’s a short bio of the former Methodist youth minister, partially taken from a 2006 interview with the long-time church employee:

Brazelle is a Florence native.
He attended Brandon Elementary and Coffee High Schools.
He attended Florence State Teachers College and was an officer for the school’s choir.
He began duties at Sheffield’s United Methodist Church at the age of 22.
He originally planned to work with the Sheffield congregation for only two years.
His first assignment was as Youth Director, a position he assumed in October 1956.
He founded the church’s first Children’s Choir.
A few years later, Brazelle founded the Youth Choir for older children.
He eventually assumed duties as director of the Adult Choir.
At one time, Brazelle had a total of nine youth oriented choirs under his direction.
He took one youth choir on summer tours, visiting many major US cities and traveling to Europe in 1986.
Brazelle’s hobby is spelunking and he often took youth groups to explore local caves.
He was named unofficially as the “Dean of District Music Directors.”
He formed a singing group composed of local businessmen called “The Wait a Minutes.”
He was relieved of duties as Youth Director in 2003.
He became the subject of a private investigation in 2012.

***** 

Former youth and music minister of Sheffield United Methodist Church, Oliver Brazelle, has been arrested in Lauderdale County on charges of sexual abuse of a young boy. Brazelle previously faced at least three similar charges in Sheffield in 2012. Originally, 10 men came forward with charges, but only three agreed to testify in court. Later, the three men who had initially agreed to testify against Brazelle declined to do so. If convicted of the charges that spanned 40 years, the 79 year old Brazelle could face up to 20 years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender upon his release. 

***** 

From August 2014:

As I walk a long the Bois de Boulogne with an independent air,
You can hear the girls declare,
He must be a millionaire,
You can hear them sigh and wish to die,
You can see them wink the other eye
At the man that broke the bank at Monte Carlo.

Early this afternoon, two men walked away from the Lauderdale County Courthouse. The first looked fit, tanned, and probably Praxeled. Following closely behind Florence attorney Ralph Holt was his antithesis, an elderly man, excruciatingly thin and leaning heavily on a cane. A faint smile graced the face of Oliver Brazelle as Holt spoke briefly with this writer’s companion who had finished law school school with Ralph’s father. 

Yet Brazelle is now in what could be called a fight for his life. If convicted of the crimes of second degree sexual abuse and sodomy, the 81 year-old Brazelle could finish his days in a state prison facility. The maximum sentence the former youth and music minister could receive would be 20 years, but it’s doubtful a judge would levy such punishment on one with no previous record. While rumors have abounded about similar crimes in Sheffield, only one alleged victim has come forward to press charges, and that was in Lauderdale where Brazelle once owned a lake home.

The witness list for the trial appears long, with at least one Methodist bishop being called to testify. Today’s court appearance involved, among other issues, a piece of evidence that spoke to motive. Holt contends that motive in the case is not an issue. No…the motive in the crime, assuming it actually happened, is quite clear. Brazelle’s trial is scheduled for August 10th.

*****

Former Methodist youth minister of Sheffield, Oliver Brazelle, unexpectedly pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor on Wednesday afternoon. The 81 year-old Brazelle was originally charged with crimes that could have led to a 20 year sentence, but his plea assures his total time will be no more than half that.

While Brazelle has not yet been sentenced, Assistant District Attorney Will Powell, who along with the victim’s family accepted the elderly man’s plea, has mentioned “jail time.” Obviously Powell knows the difference between jail and prison. Is this where the sentencing will be heading? If Brazelle receives less than a year total incarceration time, his sentence would be served in the Lauderdale Detention Center. Vina coach Sonny Tibbs, convicted of illicit sex with a minor, is currently serving his time in the Marion County Jail. Even a sentence of over a year may be served locally under certain circumstances. Brazelle is not eligible for community corrections, but it’s not unheard of for a state prisoner to do his/her time locally, as one Lauderdale County woman convicted of investment fraud did only a few years ago.

Brazelle will again appear before Judge Gil Self in October. Self has told the aging former youth/music minister to have his affairs in order. It’s a sad end for what most thought was a life dedicated to serving God.

*****

 Some Insight into Oliver Brazelle Crimes/Sentencing

It is my understanding that Oliver will most likely serve time at Hamilton Aged & Infirm Center, which is a facility that normally cares for elderly or sickly prisoners. The plea agreement has been submitted to the judge, who will review and decide whether he agrees with the terms of the plea agreement. He could approve as is, or could impose what he thinks is a more appropriate sentence.

I do not know the name of the victim in this case, nor do I care to know, but it seems to me this young man has acted in a brave way, to put his allegations forward and to stick with them all the way. I believe the fact that Oliver was removed from his position as youth minister, but was kept as a church employee, contributed to many of his victims’ fears that “no one would believe them.” It took a lot of guts (and probably lengthy and expensive therapy) to stand up and accuse Oliver.

No matter what sentence Oliver receives, he will deserve a longer one, but at his age and with his serious health issues, he likely won’t come out of there alive. Compared to doing hard time in a real prison, Hamilton AIC will be a piece of cake, but Oliver won’t know the difference. He’s already suffering dementia, or so I hear.The harshest sentence, the one Oliver must have feared the most, was losing his elevated position in the community, along with the respect and admiration of so many church-goers. I was one of those, long ago, and could not possibly be more disappointed in him. He will no longer make beautiful music, nor will he enjoy the company of family and old friends. He will leave all those blessings behind. It took decades to bring Oliver to this and I, for one, am grateful justice will be served up to him on October 7, 2015.

Not only do I feel personally betrayed, because I had thought so well of Oliver since the late 1950’s, but I feel betrayed on behalf of a good friend who is now deceased. One of the last messages I received from my friend reviled Oliver for what he did to him as a young boy. It had been hard for me to believe his accusations, which were private and not public, but his story had not changed over a number of years.

After a time I did believe his accusations and I said to my friend, who knew he was dying, that Oliver was old and weak and suffering from heart disease; that he could no longer cause him harm. My words seemed to help him, or at least he said it meant something to think of Oliver as weak instead of as a force. He kept his experiences with Oliver secret for over 50 years and I believe he suffered from shame and fear, not to mention anger and fury, the entire time. He told me many times that Oliver always threatened, “No one will believe you.”

So, none of that can be undone. But it means something to me that Oliver will be held accountable, however long or short his sentence may be. It is important that Oliver knows he has this permanent scar on his precious sterling reputation. I should have said, instead of I am grateful Oliver will be served justice, that I am grateful to the heroic young man who brought him to justice.

*****

Oliver Brazelle, 81, is currently housed in the Bibb County Correctional Facility. The former Sheffield youth minister is serving a two year term for sexual abuse in Lauderdale County. His release date is October 5, 2017. Classed as an Adult sex offender under the Alabama Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Act, he is not eligible for WR, CWC or minimum custody.

Two weeks later:

Earlier this month, Oliver Brazelle was returned to Lauderdale Circuit Court where he was transferred to Community Corrections. The 81 year old former Methodist youth minister is serving a two year sentence for enticing a child. He was formerly held in the state prison system.

And the end:

Convicted sex offender Oliver Brazelle has died. Brazelle, 81, was serving a two year sentence in relation to crimes against young men who were ostensibly in his ministerial care. His death was confirmed this morning by the Lauderdale County District Attorney’s office. Had he lived, he would have been free in October 2017.

Despite being convicted of a sex crime, Brazelle was allowed to leave hardcore prison after a few months and to serve the remainder of his sentence in community corrections. The former Methodist youth minister had kept a low profile during these past few months.

The funeral for Oliver Brazelle is today at Elkins Funeral Home in Florence. Services are reported to be private and no details have been given out to the press. One person deeply affected by Brazelle’s crimes stated:  

I would like to make sure he is in the ground.