Ex-Stonecrest mayor sent back to prison for mental exam

His attorney, Dwight Thomas, argued some kind of home confinement would be better for Lary, who already has an intensive outpatient treatment program in place.

“He’s not a danger,” Thomas said of Lary. “He’s not a flight risk.”

But U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. said a private doctor’s recent evaluation of Lary’s mental competence “raises substantial questions” about Lary’s understanding of the criminal allegations against him.

Lary served more than two years in federal prison after he admitted to pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars of federal COVID-19 relief funds from the city he helped create.

In August, the former politician was back living in the Atlanta area under federal supervision.

That’s when he decided to run for a seat on the Stonecrest City Council, drawing heat from federal and DeKalb County prosecutors.

Lary attested during the qualifying process that he was an eligible candidate, in conflict with Georgia law that restricts convicted felons from holding elected office.

Lary was struck from the ballot and indicted in DeKalb County on several charges including false registration. He has pleaded not guilty.

Federal prosecutors separately sought to revoke Lary’s supervision and return him to prison, arguing he violated his conditions of release by falsely qualifying for election.

That detention request is expected to be decided by Thrash once Lary’s mental evaluation has been completed. The judge ordered analysis of Lary’s mental state at present and during the time he qualified for office.

Federal prosecutor Garrett Bradford said Lary will get the most thorough evaluation possible within the federal prison system, where he can continue to receive treatment for various mental and physical conditions.

Bradford said Lary’s medical records show recent distortions in perception and judgment, manic episodes, loss of impulse control and fears of being attacked, among other things.

Thomas signaled that Lary’s defense may include an argument that he was not mentally able to distinguish between right and wrong when he qualified to run for office. But he said Lary currently understands enough to fight the allegations, after extensive mental health treatment that “has had a restorative effect.”

“I’m satisfied that my client does understand the nature of the proceedings that he’s faced with,” Thomas said.

Lary, who is now unemployed, spent a couple of months completing an inpatient mental health program at the end of last year and now has daily group therapy sessions at an outpatient facility, his younger sister testified Tuesday.

Jechell Lary Waller, a nurse practitioner, said she has been helping her brother coordinate his treatment for the past year. She said he has recurring prostate cancer, chronic back pain and lymphedema, a type of swelling that can lead to infection and possible amputation.

Lary also displays some signs of dementia, like their deceased father, Waller said. She said Lary is going through a divorce and lives with a longtime friend in Atlanta, where he should stay because putting him back in prison is “not conducive” to his mental health.

“He’s not violent,” she said. “We are able to look after him in the community.”

Thomas said Lary had experienced “significant difficulties” receiving medical care while serving his prison sentence, sometimes waiting up to six months for treatment.