Patty Wanda Green, mother of convicted murderer Chad Ashley Green, pled guilty to one count of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) on Thursday morning.
Green, whose case had been scheduled to go to jury trial on September 21, was sentenced to 20 years, five in confinement and 15 on parole. Charges pending against her in Rockdale and Columbia counties will be dropped upon admission of the plea.
Green was convicted of conspiring with her son, Allen, currently serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Robert Andrew “Drew” Nichols, to have witness Chadwick Little killed. Little had testified against Allen in the 2013 murder case.
Green was one of nine people included in a 41-count indictment issued last March by the Newton County District Attorney’s Office. In addition to RICO charges, the indictment included multiple counts of aggravated assault, violation of the street gang terrorism and prevention act and trafficking methamphetamines.
The indictment followed a nine-month long investigation involving 11 agencies, including the Newton County District Attorney’s Office, the Georgia Department of Corrections, and the Newton and Rockdale County Sheriff’s offices.
During a raid of Green’s Conyers home, documents describing the bylaws, mottos, creeds, membership information and other information of the Ghost Face Gangsters, a group of predominately white males with violent criminal histories thought to be operating both inside and outside the Georgia Department of Corrections.
District Attorney Layla Zon said Green had been sending mail, made to look as if it were from an attorney, to Allen in jail. Inside the envelope, a whole had been cut out of the materials housing methamphetamine and marijuana. Similar types of envelopes were found in Green’s home, as well as photos and messages on her cell phone of the materialsthat had been sent to her son.
Also found in Green’s home was a “snitch list,” Zon told the judge Thursday morning.
As part of Green’s plea deal, Green’s attorney, Elizabeth Rogan made it clear that while her client would testify against others if it became absolutely necessary, the understanding was that there would be no further trials and it was unlikely Green’s testimony would be needed.
“She’s not a snitch,” Rogan said, adding that, given the nature of the crimes involved, it was important for Green’s own safety that it be known she was unlikely to testify.
As part of the plea deal, Green agreed not to be in contact with any of the co-defendants except with her son, Allen, and her sister-in-law, Lisa Faye Hall, also indicted in March. Charges against Hall were dismissed on Thursday morning, according to Zon. Green’s visits with Allen will be overseen by the Department of Corrections.
Other conditions of the deal included recognizing Green’s medical conditions, which include the possibility of breast cancer, and a request for credit for time served.
In accepting the deal, Judge Samuel D. Ozburn of the Alcovy Judicial Circuit assured Rogan and Green that the Georgia Department of Corrections had medical facilities that could assist her, and while he wasn’t opposed to the time served condition, it was not up to him, but rather to the parole board to allow it.
