Hale gets 17 years for murder
A Van Buren County man was sentenced to 17 years for gunning down a county commissioner during a gunfight outside a Spencer-area convenience store in 2004 ‘ a fatal shooting prosecutors said was an ambush and the defense said was a case of self-defense.
The defendant, Joe Hale, was sentenced Monday morning by Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to serve 17 years for his conviction in September of second-degree murder for the slaying of Van Buren County Commissioner John Scott.
The maximum sentence was 25 years.
Hale was sentenced as a range-one offender meaning he may be eligible for release after serving 30 percent of his time. He has been behind bars since his conviction by a Van Buren County jury earlier this fall.
Hale’s sentence comes for the fatal shooting of Scott during a gunfight outside Parkway Southside Market on the afternoon of May 18, 2004. The shooting itself came after Scott allegedly attacked an elderly friend of Hale’s during a dispute over money earlier in the day, which had Scott himself charged with assault for the earlier confrontation.
Prosecutors convinced jurors Hale and driver Jason Smith turned around after passing Scott on the highway, following him into the store parking lot. Prosecutors went on to say Hale had revenge on his mind for the earlier attack on his friend when he approached Scott’s vehicle with a bottle in his hand.
It was at that point witnesses said Scott, who was seated in his car, opened fire on Hale striking him in the midsection several times. It was after being wounded witnesses said Hale went back to the truck in which he was a passenger, pulled his own gun and opened fire on the man who had just shot him. The large-caliber rounds passed through Scott’s door and fatally wounded him in his legs, severing his femoral arteries.
In basing their findings of guilt, jurors found proof, through a witness who saw Hale and Smith turn around in back of Scott on the highway, that Hale was out for revenge and that he intentionally went armed. Jurors also found, despite being wounded, that Hale could have left the scene without firing any shots since Scott had stopped firing after apparently running out of ammunition.
The sentencing hearing included testimony by Scott’s sister, Sherry Johnson, who spoke of losing her brother. There were also witnesses in Hale’s behalf who asked the court not to issue the maximum sentence.