Patrick Cannon Released: Could Be Back in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC — Ex-Charlotte mayor Patrick Cannon is out of prison, and may be back in Charlotte. But nobody has actually seen him.

We know he left the Federal Correctional Institution in Morgantown, West Virginia before one this afternoon. If he’s not home already, he will be under house arrest once he is, beginning his transition back into society.

“This isn’t special treatment,” says Charlotte attorney, and former Union County DA, John Snyder. “This isn’t a political thing. There’s no politics to this. This is how the federal system works.”

After 22 months as a federal prisoner in Morgantown, West Virgina, former Charlotte mayor Patrick Cannon has been released early, for good behavior and completion of an alcohol recovery program, to the Residential Re-entry Center.

Cannon is returning to his Ballantyne home. But Snyder says he will be under 24-hour monitoring, and restricted to those four walls, outside of work.

“There are people in his house putting in the monitoring system,” says Snyder. “That’s on a  separate phone line. Anytime they ping it, it’s got to get a ping back.”

WCCB Charlotte was there Thursday afternoon as officials arrived in an unmarked vehicle, and appeared to take that equipment into the Cannon home. But, so far, we have not seen Patrick Cannon.

“We’re here to support him, as a family and a neighborhood,” says Tony Fabiano.

There have been neighbors going in and out of the home, bringing food to the Cannon family. Kenilworth and Amberleigh HOA president Tony Fabiano says the residents are ready to welcome their neighbor back to Ballantyne.

“He’s served his time,” says Fabiano. “He understands his mistakes. And I firmly believe that he’s paid his price to society.”

Snyder says this is a case of the system working as it’s designed, and a good deal for tax dollars.

“As taxpayers, we’re not paying for him to eat, or to sleep, anymore,” says Snyder. “He’s paying himself. In fact, he has a fee that goes along with that monitoring system.”

Patrick Cannon is scheduled to be under house arrest until January 25th. If he violates the terms of that agreement, he could be forced to serve the remainder of his 44 month sentence.