Judge Curtis Collier has issued an order keeping former Pilot Travel Centers president Mark Hazelwood under home confinement during the appeal of his fraud conviction.
Now that the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the appeal, attorneys for Hazelwood ask that he no longer be confined to his Knoxville home.
They also asked that in the alternative he be allowed to go free between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day.
Prosecutors opposed the request, saying Hazelwood was given a 12 and one-half year sentence and remains a flight risk.
Hazelwood was convicted following a lengthy jury trial in connection with Pilot defrauding multiple trucking companies out of millions of dollars of promised rebates.
Judge Collier said, "The Court ORDERS that the other terms and conditions of Defendant’s release shall remain in effect. The Court found following his conviction that Defendant is a flight risk, but that the conditions the Court then imposed, including home confinement, would reasonably assure Defendant’s future appearance.1 In addition, since the present conditions were set, Defendant has been sentenced. During Defendant’s sentencing hearing, the Court observed that there was a need for Defendant’s sentence to protect the public, because the Court concluded there was a risk Defendant would reoffend, that is, commit further white-collar crimes. Relaxing the current conditions of release would therefore not be in the interest of justice."
The judge, however, agreed to a request that Hazelwood be allowed to take steps to sell his airplane and boat.
The order says, "The United States does not object to allowing Defendant to sell his airplane and boat under the supervision of the Probation Office, but does object to any other change to the current conditions of Defendant’s release.
"The Court ORDERS that Defendant’s pilot may, on specific terms to be set by the Probation Office, render Defendant’s plane operable; fly the plane to Greenville, South Carolina, for the required inspection; fly the plane to Wichita, Kansas, for the required upgrade; and fly the plane to a facility outside the state of Tennessee for an arm’s length sale, where the plane may remain operable for testing and due diligence by potential buyers.
"The Court further ORDERS that, on specific terms to be set by the Probation Office, Defendant’s boat may be relocated to a location outside the state of Tennessee, listed for sale with a broker, and rendered operable for testing and due diligence by potential buyers."