A convicted bank robber who has been out of federal prison on supervised release since October 2019 could be headed back to prison after the federal probation office noted numerous violations of his release conditions dating from the day he was released from prison to July 2020.
Nicholas Tolerson, 41, appeared via video conference link from the Pulaski County jail before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Thomas Ray in federal court in Little Rock on Monday. Tolerson has been in jail since he was arrested Dec. 21 on a warrant issued Dec. 16 by U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker.
In the revocation motion submitted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gordon, Tolerson was accused of violating the terms of his release from prison on 32 separate occasions between Oct. 24, 2019 and July 17, 2020. The motion alleged that Tolerson submitted urine samples for drug testing on 12 occasions that tested positive for either PCP or marijuana or were diluted in an effort to avoid detection of drug use.
The motion alleged that Tolerson failed to report for drug testing on another eight occasions and that he failed to show up for drug counseling on three occasions.
Other allegations included failure to submit monthly supervision reports, failure to notify the probation office of a speeding ticket, failure to report a change in employment and submission of false employment and earnings information.
After determining that Christian Alexander, a Jacksonville attorney, had been appointed last summer by Baker to represent Tolerson, the judge questioned Tolerson to determine whether he was still eligible to retain his court-appointed counsel.
"Nothing has happened to change your financial circumstances since last summer, has it?" Ray asked. "In other words, you haven't won the lottery or found a job that pays you a whole bunch of money that would allow you to hire a lawyer, is that right?"
"That's correct, your honor," Tolerson responded.
Noting that Baker had scheduled a bond hearing for Tolerson Feb. 11 at 2 p.m., Ray asked Alexander if he wanted to request an earlier hearing in the matter.
"We would request it but I don't think there's an agreement so if we were to have a hearing we would need some time to prepare for that," Alexander said.
Gordon said the U.S. attorney's office had no objection but did intend to ask that Tolerson be detained until a revocation hearing could be scheduled.
"I'll enter an order of detention that makes it clear he has the right to request a bond hearing anytime between now and Feb. 11," Ray said.
He pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery and was sentenced to 77 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Pritchett was sentenced to 42 months in prison followed by three years supervised release for his part in the caper.