Former judge sentenced after filing 'Alford' plea

With a jury trial looming in only two days, former Saline County judge and attorney Lawrence R. McClure folded his cards Monday, Oct. 15, and tossed them in on an Alford plea in a case that has taken years to come to resolution.

Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Donald G. Stouffer announced Monday that McClure was found guilty of the class B felony theft of more than $55,000 from the late Lois Scott of Marshall and sentenced by Judge Garrett R. Crouch to 30 days "shock incarceration" in the Saline County Justice Center, 90 days home detention with an electronic monitor attached to his ankle, and five years supervised probation.

Full restitution for the stolen funds was paid in November 2005, seven months after charges were filed in the case.

Stouffer said "Our guiding principle (in this case) was that McClure's status as a former attorney should give him no advantage as a criminal defendant."

Although there were numerous delays in getting the case to trial, Stouffer said he always believed "justice would be served, once we were given the opportunity to present our case."

An "Alford" plea is one in which the defendant denies guilt, but admits the prosecutor has strong enough evidence that there is a "substantial likelihood" a judge or jury will bring a guilty verdict.

Stouffer said McClure prepared a durable power of attorney for his elderly client, Lois Scott, in 1998. A durable power of attorney allows the agent (in this case, McClure) to act for the client (Scott) even if the client becomes mentally or physically disabled.

One year after signing the document, Scott entered a nursing home and McClure sold her house for an amount in excess of $55,000.

Over the next eight weeks, McClure deposited $34,000 of the proceeds of the sale into his personal checking account, and during the ensuing year, transferred an additional $12,200 into the same account.

The stolen money was used for multiple purposes, including a payment of $10,000 to the holder of a note secured by a deed of trust against McClure's residence at 750 E. Eastwood.

After Scott's death in 2003, relatives attempted to get McClure to wrap up her affairs, but when he failed to do so, the family eventually filed a complaint with the Missouri Office of Disciplinary Counsel in mid-2004.

The theft of Scott's funds was not discovered until the Disciplinary Counsel subpoenaed bank records of Scott's account.

McClure's license to practice law was revoked by the Missouri Supreme Court on Aug. 17, 2004; he was subsequently indicted by a Saline County grand jury on April 15, 2005.

Stouffer expressed his appreciation of the efforts made by multiple agencies in pursuit of the case. "When this case was referred to my office by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, I knew that we faced an uphill battle. The age of the case presented statute of limitations problems, and more importantly, the complexity of the case, with multiple transfers in cash and between different accounts, presented financial accounting issues that our police department seldom encounters.

"Detective Sergeant Brad Bartlett of the Marshall Police Department, with the assistance of the FBI, was equal to the task. (They) and our office examined thousands of documents covering in excess of four years of transactions . . . and prepared more than 100 exhibits for the trial of this case," he said.

McClure, who was an associate circuit court judge in Saline County for several years beginning in 1979, must report to the Saline County Justice Center on Nov. 15 to begin serving his 30-day sentence.

Contact Kathy Fairchild at

marshallhealth@socket.net