Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor in connection with an illegal vote the convicted felon filed in the November 2014 election.
Cannon voted early with his wife -- an action first reported by the Observer -- two weeks after he was sentenced to 44 months in prison for accepting more than $50,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents.
Felons lose their right to vote. Cannon told the judge in his federal corruption case that he voted out of habit. "The light didn't come on that day," he said.
U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney ordered Cannon to be placed under house arrest until he reported to prison. He entered a Morganton, W.Va., correctional facility 12 days later.
The longtime Democratic officeholder was indicted that February by a Mecklenburg grand jury on felony voting-fraud charges.
But in an agreement worked out between Mecklenburg County District Attorney Andrew Murray and Cannon's defense team, the former mayor pleaded guilty Wednesday to the reduced charge of attempted voter fraud, a misdemeanor.
Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin sentenced Cannon to one day, to run concurrently with his existing sentence.
Prosecutor discusses Patrick Cannon voter fraud plea deal
Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor in connection with an illegal vote the convicted felon filed in the November 2014 election.
The prosecutor in court Wednesday is Assistant District Attorney Reed Hunt. He said the decision to accept a guilty plea for a reduced charge had nothing to do with Cannon's stature as former mayor and everything to do with the circumstances of the case.
Cannon walked into Courtroom 5350 wearing a gray suit that was brought from his closet at home, and he was accompanied by Charlotte attorneys James Ferguson and Jake Sussman. His lawyers said no family was expected in court; Cannon did wave to an unidentified couple.
In the 10-minute hearing, Cannon apologized to the court for having voted, and thanked Ervin for arranging the hearing so he could put this case behind him.
Cannon was expected to soon be back on Interstate 77 North for the 500-mile trip back to Federal Correction Institution, Morganton.
Questions to the federal Bureau of Prison on what the trip will cost taxpayers were not immediately answered Wednesday.
After the indictment by a county grand jury, defense attorney James Ferguson called the voting charges excessive.
"Patrick Cannon publicly acknowledged voting inadvertently. ... A federal judge who heard the case decided that the appropriate sanction was to place him under house arrest. So what is the purpose of this indictment under these circumstances?" Ferguson said.
Cannon's guilty plea is not expected to affect his federal incarceration. He is scheduled to be released from the low-security West Virginia prison in January. However, Cannon could be placed under home detention or in a Mecklenburg halfway house as early as this summer.
He arrived in Charlotte Tuesday and spent the night at the Mecklenburg County Jail.
Cannon resigned from office after he was arrested two years ago. He lost the right to vote when he pleaded guilty to charges that June.
As a result of the Cannon voting case, federal judges in Charlotte now specifically remind defendants pleading guilty that they are losing the right to vote.
(c)2016 The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
