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Lawyer indicted on charges of forgery, perjury in bail-bond case
William O. Ayers' court date Monday
By Andrew Wolfson
The Courier-Journal
A Louisville lawyer under investigation for acting as a bail bondsman has been indicted on seven felony counts of forgery, perjury and tampering with public records.
William O. Ayers was charged Thursday by a Jefferson County grand jury in connection with a $250,000 cash bond that was posted in January 2005 to get a murder defendant out of jail.
The Courier-Journal reported last year that Ayers came under investigation by Louisville Metro Police after he told another lawyer that he had posted $50,000 of the bond money himself.
Kentucky abolished commercial bail bonding three decades ago, and court rules have barred lawyers from posting bonds for clients for 140 years.
Ayers is scheduled to appear for arraignment Monday in Jefferson District Court. Reached by a reporter yesterday, he wouldn't comment.
The charges stemmed from the case of Demetrius Lamont Davis, who was charged with murder for shooting Andre Cowan in July 2004 in a fight over money and cocaine. Davis pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and other charges and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in April 2005 seized $200,000 of the bond money under a law allowing the forfeiture of drug-crime profits. Agent in Charge Tony King said yesterday that Davis' sister, Laquita Davis, admitted in another court proceeding that the cash was drug money.
Ayers' role in the case came under scrutiny after he approached another lawyer, Casey McCall, who represented Davis, and demanded that McCall return the remaining $50,000 to him. Jefferson Circuit Judge Geoffrey Morris had ordered that portion of the bond set aside to pay for McCall and another lawyer handling the case.
McCall said Ayers approached him twice asking for the money, saying he had posted it. McCall reported the conversation to police and to Morris.
Ayers is charged with three counts of forgery, three counts of tampering with physical records and one count of perjury, all stemming from documents he submitted to court about the bond, First Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Harry Rothgerber said.
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Steve Faircloth
A Way Out Bail Bonds
(220) 204-9733 Cell
NSIN# SF0105
LIC. #704058
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