Man Convicted of Theft from the Elderly

ATHENS — It took less than 15 minutes for a Henderson County Jury on Tuesday to find Brian Keith Fugett, 36, of Trinidad, guilty of theft from an elderly person in the 392nd District Court. KETK reports Fugett, along with his girlfriend Brandi Melton, were arrested in August of 2012 by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office for the offense.

According to Sheriff’s reports and testimony at trial, Fugett and Hyde were hired by an 84-year-old woman’s daughters to help care for their elderly mother, who was also suffering from Alzheimer’s. Beginning in May of last year, the daughters noticed that some of their mother’s belongings were missing from her home. At the time, the daughters believed the missing items were gone because their mother had misplaced them.

However, in August, they noticed that many large items, such as sterling silver flatware, plates, and jewelry were also missing. The daughters contacted the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators found pawn tickets at a Gun Barrel City Pawn shop linking Fugett and Melton to the stolen property. Officials say Fugett and Melton were promptly arrested. Fugett will be sentenced August 23 and faces up to ten years in prison. Melton is set to stand trial for the same offense in September.