A Cochise County man was convicted Friday of three felonies stemming from his care for an elderly woman and the handling of her finances in 2016 and 2017.
Lonney Edwards McCoy was found guilty of theft from a vulnerable adult, unlawful use of a power of attorney, and money laundering. He had been indicted in February 2018 following an investigation by Det. John Papatrefon of the Sierra Vista Police Department.
The jury of eight spent about three hours in deliberations. McCoy, 44, will be sentenced in a few weeks, but it is unclear whether he will be immediately turned over to the Arizona Department of Corrections.
That is because McCoy is awaiting trial in two other felony cases unrelated to the victim in this current case.
McCoy’s trial started in Cochise County Superior Court on April 6. However, a few weeks earlier there was a question of whether the trial would get underway, after prosecutor Michael Powell of the Cochise County Attorney’s Office expressed concerns in open court about defense attorney Peter Kelly’s ability to be properly represent McCoy.
Kelly, 81, was questioned by Judge Laura Cardinal about his preparedness for trial, and the judge even went through a detailed discussion of defense plans for witness interviews that had not yet been conducted. In the end, McCoy told Cardinal he was confident in Kelly’s ability.
McCoy was initially scheduled to stand trial in late 2018 but a variety of delays occurred, including a special action filing to the Arizona Court of Appeals. At one point McCoy advised the court he wished to represent himself but later changed his mind, which also caused a delay.
The case was further delayed in mid-2019 while the parties argued over trial witnesses and exhibits. Then in September 2019 McCoy’s pretrial release was revoked and he was ordered held in the Cochise County jail until trial.
From November 2019 through February 2020 the prosecution was put on hold while McCoy was assessed to determine if he was competent to assist in his own defense. About the time McCoy was cleared to stand trial the Arizona Supreme Court put all trials on hold due to COVID-19.
Earlier this year the parties argued several pretrial motions until Cardinal announced in January that the trial would start April 6.