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USA - Florida. Joseph Ables, 75, White, sentenced to death
April 4, 2025: April 4, 2025 - Florida. Joseph Ables, 75, White, sentenced to death
Circuit Court Judge Angela Cowden on Friday sentenced Joseph Ables to death for the May 6, 2018, murder of Highlands County Deputy Sheriff William Gentry Jr.
On October 28, 2024 (see HoC in that date) a unanimous jury recommended that Ables be sentenced to death. Cowden accepted the jury’s recommendation Friday and committed Ables to death row.
He was also convicted of animal cruelty for fatally shooting a cat.
Ables was convicted for shooting deputy William J. Gentry, 40, on May 6, 2018. Deputy Gentry, 40, White, responded to an animal abuse call at a home on Baltimore Way after a homeowner’s cat had been fatally shot with a pellet gun. During the investigation, Gentry went to the home of the suspect, who lived next door.
As Gentry stood at the front door, Ables shot him multiple times in the head, killing him.
Ables, a Marine, claimed he was a Vietnam veteran with PTSD. He told the courtroom in closing arguments last week that he didn’t realize Gentry was a deputy and had acted in self-defense.
https://www.snntv.com/news/man-sentenced-to-death-after-killing-highlands-county-deputy/
https://www.midfloridanewspapers.com/highlands_news-sun/ables-gets-death-for-killing-deputy/article_7ff96dea-8fda-4b55-aa70-2632b3c2b279.html (Source: SNN-TV, 04/04/2025)
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