A man who stole more than $2,700 from his 76-year-old mother’s bank accounts was sentenced Tuesday in Jefferson County court to 18 years in prison.
Craig Cordell Ralston, 51, was on parole at the time of the thefts, the county district attorney’s office said. He pleaded guilty to theft of an at-risk adult and tampering with a witness.
The case was Ralston’s sixth felony conviction, the office said.
In 2012, Ralston paroled to his mother’s Lakewood home after serving a portion of a 20-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery.
“His mother, Jodi Ralston-Jones, told investigators that she knew that her son had done some things wrong, but she wanted to help him,” the office said. “She let him live with her when he was released on parole, hoping that he had changed.”
Over three months during the fall and winter of 2013, Ralston took his mother’s ATM card and credit cards, using them without authorization.
“After maxing out one of her credit cards, he convinced her to raise the limit on the card,” the office said.
Ralston attempted to have a witness sign an affidavit saying that he’d had his mother’s permission to use her accounts. The witness refused because it was not true, the district attorney’s office said.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or
