Accused salesman’s bond revoked

Published 10:42 am Thursday, December 10, 2015

A used car lot owner who was indicted for two counts of receiving stolen property in 2014 has been indicted for a third charge of receiving stolen property and consequently had his bond revoked.

Donny Wilson, 54, of 410 N. Highway 51, Brookhaven, was arrested by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office on Monday after a hearing during which his bond was revoked, District Attorney Dee Bates confirmed.

Wilson was arrested in June 2014 for two counts of receiving or possessing stolen property for allegedly receiving stolen vehicles with intent to sell them at Wilson Auto Sales. He was released on June 26, 2014, on a $30,000 bond after the initial arrest. He was later indicted for the two alleged counts of receiving stolen property.

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On Oct. 18, it was alleged that a vehicle in the lot at Wilson Auto Sales had been stolen. Wilson turned himself in on Oct. 21 and was charged with receiving or possessing stolen property.

The bond was still in effect on Nov. 20 when Wilson was indicted for the third charge of possessing stolen property, a felony. Court documents state there exists probable cause to believe Wilson committed the most recent crime, and pursuant to state law, the bond must be revoked. The motion to revoke the bond was filed Nov. 30.

The defense filed a response to the motion to revoke bond, in which it requests that Wilson be placed on bond monitoring under the supervision of the Lincoln County Circuit Court until the trial. The defense stated there is no probable cause to believe that Wilson committed the felony with which he was charged on Oct. 21 after turning himself in. The response also cites alleged emotional and cognitive problems.

The bond was revoked in Monday’s hearing, and Wilson will be held in the county jail until the trial for the third charge. Court dates have not been set for Wilson at this time.

Wilson’s indictment filed Nov. 20 states that on or before Oct. 18 in Lincoln County, Wilson did willfully, unlawfully, intentionally and feloniously have in his possession a white, four-door 2011 Ford F-150 pick-up truck belonging to Joshua Powell at a time when Wilson knew or had reasonable grounds to believe that said property had been stolen.”

After Powell’s truck was recovered from the lot in October the remaining inventory at Wilson Auto Sales was searched, Police Chief Bobby Bell said, and nothing further was found.

Wilson’s mental state called into question

The defense filed a motion for a psychiatric evaluation in October.

The motion states that “the counsel for the defense has reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant may be incompetent to stand trial and is incapable of making a rational defense and assisting his counsel in his defense. This belief is based on his problems with cognitive function including memory, reasoning and impulse control coupled with his family history of mental illness and early onset Alzheimer’s disease.”