Woman's $1M Lottery Win Will Also Benefit Court-Appointed Defender in Her Criminal Case
Asked by a court employee about her job and living situation, a 28-year-old woman facing a Washington state methamphetamine possession charge truthfully replied that she is unemployed and resides with her mom in Vancouver. No one asked her about any money she might have stashed away.
But because Megan Gatlin won $1 million in the Oregon Lottery St. Patrick’s Day Raffle and banked the $670,000 or so after-tax net she received in April, she’s far from indigent, the Columbian reports.
Informed about the hefty balance by Gatlin’s court-appointed private defense lawyer, John Peterson of Vancouver, the judge in the case relieved Peterson of his indigent defense duties Friday. However, Gatlin then hired him on her own dime, so he is expected to represent her at trial in November.
