Morgan County grand jury indicts 9 for first-degree theft, including murder defendant

By David Gambino 

For the Enquirer  

A Morgan County grand jury in August returned indictments for nine people on charges of first-degree theft, according to Circuit Court filings last week, including a Hartselle man already in jail awaiting a murder trial. 

Rathel Amos Lindley, 44, is accused of adding his name to a personal check in the amount of $3,900 intended for another person and cashing that check at Redstone Federal Credit Union in Hartselle in April 2022, according to an investigator’s affidavit. The affidavit says the bank returned the check as “not authorized” and attempted to contact Lindley to no avail. Redstone Federal Credit Union provided video evidence of the transaction to investigators who said they were able to positively identify Lindley leaving with the funds. 

Rathel Lindley and his brother, Billy Joe Lindley, 51, are charged with the stabbing death of 44-year-old Charles Cameron Hill on Nov. 17, 2021, near Hartselle Gymnastics at 202 Corsbie St. 

Billy Lindley was arrested on the day of Hill’s death and remains in Morgan County Jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond. 

Hartselle police said Rathel Lindley was arrested after further investigation into Hill’s death resulted in a grand jury indictment in January of this year. The same grand jury also indicted Billy Lindley. 

In an affidavit filed on the day of Hill’s death, Hartselle police Investigator Chip Reynolds said police were dispatched to Hartselle Gymnastics where they found Hill dead from stab wounds to his torso. 

Reynolds said police located the Lindley brothers where they both then resided, at 401 Woodall St. According to Reynolds, Billy Lindley admitted to stabbing Hill while Hill “was arguing with another party.” Reynolds said Billy Lindley gave police the knife that he said he used in the stabbing. 

On Wednesday, Hartselle police Lt. Alan McDearmond said investigators questioned Rathel Lindley on the night of Hill’s death but didn’t have enough evidence at the time to charge him. 

“Investigators located additional witnesses at a later time which provided details to show Rathel’s involvement,” McDearmond said. “Not only that, but Rathel made incriminating statements on social media and also upon his arrest after the indictment.” 

Rathel Lindley was booked into Morgan County Jail on the murder charge on Feb. 15 and remained there in lieu of a $250,000 bond on Wednesday. 

Several other August indictments involved allegations of check fraud. 

Cathrine Barnett, 53, of Tuscumbia, is accused of stealing $4,896.95 from Alabama Bariatrics after they gave her a reimbursement check for an overpayment, according to an investigator’s affidavit. Between July and October 2022, Barnett allegedly used the account information on the check to make multiple electronic payments to herself for “loans, car loans, mortgage payments, and a utility bill,” according to the affidavit. 

Avery Phillip Johnson, 33, of Decatur, is accused of stealing $13,997.97 from Redstone Federal Credit Union in March 2022, according to an investigator’s affidavit. The affidavit claims Johnson endorsed five checks at different branch locations before immediately withdrawing the money. When the bank tried to notify Johnson that the checks came from a closed account, Johnson “seemingly abandoned the account with the negative balance,” according to the affidavit. 

Isaac Jarquis Mitchell, 53, of Decatur, is accused of stealing $8,354.70 from Redstone Federal Credit Union after he allegedly visited multiple Decatur branches and cashed two forged checks in June 2022, according to an investigator’s affidavit. 

Rebecca Anne Prater, 44, of Falkville, is accused of stealing $2,914.92 from Redstone Federal Credit Union after she allegedly deposited multiple returned checks in April and May 2022 and then abandoned her account, according to an investigator’s affidavit. 

Grant Cameron Johnson, 34, of Decatur, is also accused of stealing from Redstone Federal Credit Union. In March 2022, Johnson deposited $500 from a $4,000 check with the words “down payment on house half” written in the memo line at the bank and cashed the rest, according to an investigator’s affidavit. When the check was flagged as coming from a closed account, Johnson apparently abandoned his account and failed to report any fraudulent activity, the affidavit claims. 

Other theft indictments include allegations of failure to complete labor after receiving payment. 

Willie Jack Green, 39, of Falkville, is accused of stealing $3,500 from a woman after she paid him to clean and repair the gutters on her home in September 2022, according to an investigator’s affidavit. The affidavit claims Green left the victim’s home with the payment and never returned to complete the repairs. 

Luis Fernando Gomez Robles, 29, of Decatur, is accused of stealing $4,500 from a woman who hired him to build and install kitchen cabinets for her home in July 2022, according to an investigator’s affidavit. The affidavit claims Robles failed to provide any cabinets and told the victim that he wasn’t going to perform any work several months after she paid him a deposit. Robles claimed he repaid the victim, according to the affidavit, but detectives said did not. 

John Pointer III, 41, of Decatur, is accused of stealing $2,980 from a woman who hired him to do projects around her house in May 2022, according to an investigator’s affidavit. After Pointer was paid $1,500 for supplies and $1,480 for labor, he allegedly left the victim’s house without completing the work while she was out on an errand, the affidavit claims.