Trial of accused Lynchburg madam delayed

The trial of a Lynchburg woman accused of running a house of prostitution on Garfield Avenue was delayed Friday when her lawyer said a doctor has judged her mentally incompetent.

Patricia Bolen, 58, was indicted in June on three felony counts of receiving money from the earnings of a prostitute and two misdemeanor counts of keeping a house used for prostitution.

Attorney Steven Birocco told Lynchburg Circuit Court Judge Mosby Perrow that a court-ordered mental health evalua-tion has shown she is incompetent to stand trial. In asking for the delay, Birocco said the report has not been submitted but said it should be filed soon.

Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Chuck Felmlee said he was worried Bolen was using drugs while she has been out of jail on bond and asked Perrow to order a drug test.

“She has been recorded as saying that proceeds from her taking money from prostitutes has been used to buy crack-cocaine,” Felmlee told the judge, noting that she has two past convictions for cocaine possession.

She passed the drug test Friday.

If the evaluation report says she is incompetent, Felmlee said, the judge would have to decide whether to commit her to an institution or to allow her to remain free while getting treatment.

Then, he said, mental health professionals will decide if her competency can be restored. Competency generally requires that she is able to understand the charges against her, the roles of court officers, court procedures and that she is able to help her lawyer prepare her case. Her next hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Dec. 7.

Lynchburg police Lt. B.K. Smith said in a June interview that the department’s vice unit started investigating Bolen when neighbors complained about people coming and going from her home on the 1400 block of Campbell Avenue.

Before police could act, Smith said, she moved to the 1500 block of Garfield Avenue. The investigation turned up evi-dence she was charging prostitutes a fee to use rooms in her homes.

He said police don’t hear complaints about these situations as much as they do about public solicitation.