Ex-Attorney on the Run After Failure to Report to Jail; His Mother Was Found Dead
The ABA Journal reports that a disbarred Georgia attorney facing 15 years in jail for defrauding clients out of their settlement checks remains on the run after police suspect that he stabbed his 77-year-old mother to death over the weekend.
“Richard Merritt, a former personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer from Smyrna, Georgia, was ordered to report to the Cobb County Jail on Friday after pleading guilty in January to more than 30 counts of felony, including theft, forgery and elder-exploitation charges related to crimes committed against 17 former clients.” writes the Journal‘s Amanda Robert.
Merritt had been free “to get his affairs in order,” according to a local TV station.