Grand jury also indicts Gadsden woman charged in June
A Greensboro woman has been indicted on a charge of permitting or facilitating the escape of an inmate who walked out of the Hale County Jail in May, according to Hale County Circuit Court records.
Patreice Genae Gooden, 39, of Greensboro is charged with permitting or facilitating escape in the first degree, a Class C felony. The indictment identifies Gooden as a public servant of the Hale County Jail and charges that she intentionally, knowingly or recklessly permitted or facilitated the escape of Ellory Kate Johnson, who the indictment says had been arrested for, charged with or convicted of felonies in Tuscaloosa and Hale counties, including identity theft, first-degree theft of property and practicing medicine without a license.
A Hale County grand jury returned the indictment Sept. 28. Gooden was arrested Oct. 1 on a warrant, and bond was set at $5,000, court records show. Court records dated Oct. 5 listed her as free on bond. Her arraignment is set for Nov. 19.
The same grand jury indicted Debra Alexander Nichols, 70, of Gadsden, on the same charge Sept. 28. According to the Hale County Sheriff’s Office, Nichols presented corrections officers with a forged court order May 11 stating that Johnson could be released. Nichols and Johnson were taken into custody in Gadsden June 11.
Bond in Nichols’s circuit case is $5,000, a professional surety bond, and court records dated Oct. 5 listed her as free on bond. She is also set for arraignment Nov. 19.
