Attorney Fletcher Long found guilty on extortion charges
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JACKSON, Tenn. — A twist in the Holly Bobo case is delivered from a Montgomery County courtroom Tuesday as the attorney for one of the prime suspects in Holly’s kidnapping and killing is found guilty of extortion. Fletcher Long, the attorney for Jason Autry, could not only lose his ability to practice law — he soon could be in prison himself. After more than 15 hours of deliberation, our sources say jurors in Clarksville found Long guilty of extortion in an unrelated case. Some experts said this could mean a major delay in the Bobo case. “Unfortunately, his actions are probably going to further delay the case,” criminal defense attorney Brandon Newman said. “It will make it even harder for the family to find justice.” According to multiple sources, Long was accused of trying to force a client to pay more for services than originally agreed upon. “Whenever someone steps into the limelight and then behaves poorly and takes advantage of their clients the way that Mr. Long did, it makes all of us look bad,” Newman said. According to Newman, Long could now lose his license to practice law and may even serve jail time, which would leave Jason Autry without a defense lawyer. “An attorney is probably going to have to be appointed for Mr. Autry,” Newman said. “Or he’s going to have to go out and hire a new attorney.” But according to Newman, that could prove to be a long and difficult task. “There probably aren’t a lot of private attorneys that want that burden at this point and time,” Newman said. It is just one more twist in the Holly Bobo case, and according to Newman it is an ironic one given Long’s controversial and outspoken nature. “The TBI has been prosecuting Mr. Long since 2012 for this crime,” Newman said. “And not only that he was seeking to have another attorney removed from the case, and now he’ll be removed himself.” Long has been disciplined multiple times by the board of professional responsibility dating back to 2006 and most recently last October. Long and his co-defendant and fellow attorney Carrie Gasaway also could face up to 12 years in prison for this conviction.
