Former Dothan funeral home owner pleads guilty to theft charges

A former Dothan funeral home owner received a 10-year prison sentence on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to stealing from customers of the funeral home.

Circuit Court Judge Lawson Little sentenced 39-year-old David Michael Meadows Jr. to a decade in prison as part of the plea agreement Meadows made with the prosecution on some of the charges filed against him.

Denny Holloway, who represented Meadows, said his client pleaded guilty to six felony counts of first-degree theft of property. Holloway said his client has 14 other similar charges that remain pending.

District Attorney Doug Valeska said Meadows received a 10-year sentence for each of the charges to which he pleaded guilty, but the sentences were to run concurrently with each other. Holloway said his client has applied for probation, which will be heard next month.

Holloway said since his client’s arrest, Meadows has moved to Georgia. Holloway said Ward Wilson Funeral Home bought his client’s business and they will honor all the funerals that were involved with his client’s charges.

The charges included the theft of more than $20,000 from trust funds at his funeral home, Kent-Thornton-Meadows Funeral Home.

“I think he just lived above his means,” Valeska said. “The bottom line is he was overliving his lifestyle.”

Valeska said as long as the families who lost their money are satisfied, he did not plan to seek time in prison for Meadows at the probation hearing. Valeska said Meadows already lost his license to own a funeral home in Alabama.

“The guy’s got a clean record, and he’s never been in trouble before,” Valeska said. “He’s paid a price.”