UPDATE | Former Richmond County Coroner in halfway house; people he stole from speaking out years later

Monday, Jan. 15, 2018

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Former Richmond County Coroner Grover Tuten is out of prison, after being convicted for stealing from the dead.

Tuten was released from a Federal Prison down in Florida.

Some families haven’t been able to move the gravesite or get their money back from Tuten.

Elliott Hankinson lost his brother Arthur a few years ago and he didn't even get the chance to bury him.

"Took about two weeks they didn't know where he was, where the body was and stuff, then they finally found out where he was and they said well we done burried him," said Hankinson.

Hankinson says Former Richmord County Coroner Grover Tuten would only release his brothers death certificate, if he paid him 1500 dollars.

"He said Charlie Reid did the embalming and he had to pay Charlie Reid the money so just give him the money and he'll pay Charlie Reid that's what he told me," said Hankinson.

Shortly after Hankinson handed over the money, Tuten was arrested for using a dead person’s ATM card.

Tuten was also convicted of stealing money and two cars from dead people.

Lawyers told Hankinson he may never see the money the coroner stole from him again.

"They say I'm not going to get my money back you know cause that money was supposed to go to Richmond County and he had another banking deposit or something and he deposited in his bank ," said Hankinson.

With Tuten now out of prison, there is a small chance Hankinson may get his money.

"They said I couldn't get it back until he get out," said Hankinson.

But Hankinson isn't holding his breath, and losing money isn't the hardest part for him; he never got the chance to say good bye.

"That was hard, that was real hard," said Hankinson, "I would've wanted to bury him somwhere else."

Grover Tuten is in a halfway house now serving the rest of his federal sentence until May.

Officials say Tuten stole more than 59 thousand dollars from several people and that was overcharging for death certificates and storage, not to mention the ones who say he was burying these people without the family’s consent.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- News 12 has learned former Richmond County Coroner Grover Tuten has been released from a minimum security federal prison camp in Pensacola and was put into a halfway house.

Tuten was sentenced to 36 months in prison after being arrested from stealing from the dead in 2013.

According to the Bureau of Prison website, Tuten is scheduled to be completely finished with his sentence on May 18, 2018.

October 16, 2015

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- Grover Tuten has been placed in a minimum security federal prison camp in Pensacola, FL.

Sept. 15, 2015

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- Former Richmond County Coroner, Grover Tuten, has been sentenced to 3 years in prison.

A judge ruled Tuten will have to pay $9,800 in restitution. The judge said he overcharged someone $1,500 for a death certificate and overcharged someone else over $2,000 for storage fees.

According to the News 12 reporter in the courtroom, Tuten cannot be out between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and cannot have more than one financial institution .

Tuten was sentenced to 36 months in prison and has 14 days to appeal the sentence. If he does not appeal, he will have to surrender on Oct. 15, 2015. The judge says this sentencing was designed to promote respect for the law.

Tuten's lawyer, Danny Durham, argued Tuten accepted his responsibility for his wrong doing. Tuten's 3 daughters and wife of 52 years was in the courtroom at the time of the sentencing.

A spokesperson for the family told the courtroom their dad devoted his life to public service for the past 50 years and that he raised his kids to have good morals. The spokeswoman also added that Grover Tuten was the primary caregiver for their Mother, who recently suffered a stroke and is bound to a wheelchair.

His attorney also argued Tuten had medical problems with his heart, high blood pressure, and has hip and knee problems and asked if he could serve his sentence outside of Federal Prison.

The Federal Judge stated quote "my ambition is to be a poor politician" before asking what kind of message a probate sentence would have on a community with previous officials committing disobedience to the law as well. Tuten's lawyer argued a probate sentence says "If you cheat, you're going to get caught."

Sept. 2, 2015

AUGUSTA. Ga. (WRDW) -- Former Augusta Coroner, Grover Tuten will face a judge for his sentencing on September 15th, 2015 at 11 am.

August 25, 2015

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- New federal documents just filed show what Grover Tuten is itting to from his 2013 arrest after stealing from the dead.

The pre-sentencing memorandum shows that the total amount calculated as a loss was $59,650.97. This total included: $9,800 for Jerome Coleman, $1,000 for Renard Williams' vehicle, $500 from Diane Allen, $500 from Julius Deats, $125 from Nancy Wiggins, $3,225 for storage fees charged to Samuel Powell, $1,500 for a death certificate charged to Elliot Hankinson, $1,555 for Richard Krajacic's truck, $216 for Potter's cremation, $1,725 for Hobbs' funeral and death certificate, $1,005.97 from Bill Luckie's and $38,500 from GRU for autopsies.

On December 19, 2013, the Richmond County District Attorney's Office seized Tuten's Regions Bank , which had an approximate balance of $33,102.71 On January 15, 2014, Tuten also turned over $3,800 to the District Attorney's Office.

This is one of the final steps leading up to his sentencing. That date has not yet been set.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

AUGUSTA, Ga (WRDW) --- Former Augusta Coroner Grover Tuten pleaded guilty in federal court today to one of the charges against him.

Tuten pleaded guilty to using the ATM card of a deceased person without permission. Initially, he pleaded not guilty. Tuten told a judge he got the pin for the person's ATM card because it was written on the back of the card.

Tuten will not be in jail, for now. Sentencing will happen after a report is completed by Tuten's probation officer, the judge said. The judge ordered him to get rid of any guns today since he is now a convicted felon.

While Tuten is out on bond, he must follow his probation rules and curfew. He cannot be out before 10 a.m. and must be home by 6 p.m.

Tuten still must face state charges.

News 12 6pm/ Friday, March 6, 2015

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) --- Former Richmond County Coroner Grover Tuten now faces federal and state charges. He's accused of stealing from the dead when he was coroner. One of those families tells News 12's Jorge Lopez Tuten is the reason their loved one is in a pauper's grave.

Carol Hobbs says her step-grandson might not have been blood, but he was still family.

"He was like one of my own grandchildren--wouldn't treat him anymore different than I would mine," she told News 12.

So, when her husband's grandson, Shane Hobbs, ed away in 2012 she wanted to do what any grandmother would.

"I told the people at the group home that they were welcome to bury him on his grandfather's plot, because I felt like his grandfather would've wanted him on his cemetery lot," Hobbs said.

Even though, he was an adult--his mind was no older than a child's. Hobbs could not move or talk and after he died not even a nearby blood relative could speak up for him--his only advocate was former Richmond County Coroner Grover Tuten.

"I just felt like they took Shane and just put him in a pauper's grave. They didn't care anything about him," Hobbs said.

An 11 count indictment shows the state thinks Tuten stole Hobbs' funeral money and kept it for himself.

"How can they make it right? They can take him and move him from over there and put him on his grandfather's burial plot," Hobbs told News 12.

Instead he was buried at West View Cemetery at Grover Tuten's request.

"It makes me mad--it makes me upset, because he's just like in an open field and it's just green grass. When they first put him there it wasn't but two graves-- now it's two rows," she said.

Along with 11 state charges Tuten now has federal ones. He's accused of using a dead person's debit card which could add 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine--which is not enough for Hobbs'. She says Shane's final resting place is not where his family paid for him to be.

"They didn't do him right. He shouldn't be put in a paupers grave," she said.

Sadly that's where he will stay for now.

We reached out to the city to see what if anything they are doing to get him out of a pauper's grave, but it was after hours so, we will stay on this. Shane's step grandmother tells us the earliest the family can do anything about it is October when his father gets out of prison.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW)-Former Richmond County Coroner Grover Tuten was indicted on federal charges Wednesday, according to court documents.

The documents say he was indicted on charges of using an unauthorized debit card and identity theft between Sept. 5, 2012 and Sept. 21, 2012. He allegedly used a debit card belonging to someone else to obtain more than $1,000 in cash, according to the documents.

Tuten faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 for the unauthorized access charge. The identity theft charge carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison.

Tuten was arrested in Richmond County in Dec. 2013 on charges of stealing from the dead. He retired as coroner in Feb. 2014.