Moundville Woman On The Run After Being Released With Forged Court Docs

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A Moundville woman with a criminal history of fraud, theft and practicing medicine without a license is on the run and facing new felony charges after managing to escape from custody in Hale County.

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The Moundville Times reports that Ellory Kate Johnson is also known as Kate Nichols and Kate Strickland.

The newspaper confirmed Patch's earlier reporting that she was released from the Hale County Jail in May after a faked document supposedly signed by Hale County Circuit Judge Marvin Wiggins was presented to the jailer by a woman named Debra Alexander Nichols.

Moundville Police Chief Toby Banks told the newspaper that Nichols had been "bamboozled" by Johnson, who had allegedly convinced Nichols that Johnson is her biological daughter.

The Moundville Times reported that Johnson is now facing more charges from warrants obtained by the Moundville Police Department, including first-degree escape.

Banks also said Nichols is wanted for permitting or facilitating Johnson's escape.

Banks is encouraging the two women to turn themselves in, but he also said those with information as to their whereabouts should contact law enforcement or the Moundville Police Department at (205) 371-2900.

TUSCALOOSA COUNTY CHARGES

Records filed in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court and obtained by Patch show Johnson was indicted on one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree and one count of possession of a forged instrument in the fourth degree.

The indictment alleges Johnson possessed or used a forged court document that falsely indicated criminal charges against her had been expunged.

Prosecutors further allege she knowingly possessed or used a forged letter purportedly written by an attorney.

What's more, a separate order signed Wednesday by Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge Daniel F. Pruet directed the court clerk to issue a writ for Johnson's arrest and ordered that she be held without bond once she is in custody.

As Patch previously reported, the new charges come after Johnson was sentenced in November 2023 in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court in a separate case where she admitted to practicing medicine without a license.

In that case, Johnson pleaded guilty after authorities said she represented herself as a physician at MentorUp Life Lab & Clinic, despite not holding a medical license.

While she was initially given probation in that case, court records obtained by Patch show that Judge Pruet revoked her bond after she violated the terms of her release.

Johnson was then sent to Hale County to face other charges and was released from the county jail in May after officials were presented an allegedly forged document from a circuit judge in Hale County stating her offenses had been expunged.

Along with her previous conviction for practicing medicine without a license, Johnson was also previously charged with theft after the director of Calvary Baptist Little Friends Daycare filed a police report to document $2,743.38 worth of unauthorized credit card charges that had been posted in April 2022 to the organization's account.

As Patch previously reported, Johnson entered the guilty plea in October 2023, along with guilty pleas for charges of felony identity theft and first-degree theft in that case.

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