Walker receives one more year in prison
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
DATE
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/walker-receives-one-more-year-in-prison/article_1adaf048-5b10-11e7-bc79-10604b9f0f42.html
Former Paducah Middle School assistant principal Jerry Walker will serve an additional year in prison following a sentencing order from Calloway Circuit Judge James Jameson.
Walker, 40, pleaded guilty in 2012 to six counts of tampering with physical evidence.
The charges stem from six letters Walker wrote in 1998 when he was a student at Murray State and suspected in a dorm fire that killed one student and injured several others. The letters, according to Commonwealth Attorney Mark Blankenship, accused other people of starting the blaze and derailed law enforcement's investigation.
Walker received a 10-year diverted sentence as part of his plea agreement, which stipulated the charges would be dropped after five years if Walker stayed out of trouble and adhered to certain conditions.
That agreement was violated on April 1 when Walker was convicted on similar charges in McCracken County and sentenced to three years in prison. Since his conviction, the commonwealth has argued Walker also should serve the 10-year sentence.
On Monday, Jameson sentenced Walker to one year in prison, which would run consecutively to his time in McCracken County.
Additionally, Jameson left the 10-year sentence from Walker's original agreement on the table, probating it for five years. That means if Walker is convicted of another felony offense within those five years, he could have to serve the remaining time.
In the sentencing order, Jameson wrote because Walker was never convicted on the suspicion he was involved in the dorm fire, he could not consider those accusations during his deliberations.
Jameson also wrote that he found the 10-year sentence to be excessive given that Walker had pleaded guilty to Class D felonies, the lowest level of felony offenses.
"Mr. Walker's crime is essentially authoring and submitting six different documents that resulted in significant difficulties in the investigation of the fire that occurred at MSU in 1998," the sentencing order states. "The law typically requires this court either probate or conditionally discharge class-D felony sentences, particularly if the defendant has no considerable criminal record."
In considering how to handle Walker's sentencing, Jameson wrote that he looked at "all of the convictions in Calloway Circuit Court over the last year" for those convicted of the same offense.
His research showed defendants found guilty of similar crimes were usually either probated for five years or sentenced to one or two years in prison.
"To allow the commonwealth to convince this court that Mr. Walker should be treated significantly more harshly, beyond what is appropriate under the circumstances ... would be patently unfair," Jameson wrote.
Additionally, Jameson noted Walker's pre-sentencing investigation showed he was at the "lowest level of risk" as far as re-offending. However, Jameson also recognized Walker's history showed a pattern of manipulation and dishonesty.
"Mr. Walker was given an opportunity (in 2012) to not be a convicted felon and walk away from his crimes with no felony conviction on his record if he could but behave for five years," Jameson wrote. "However, Mr. Walker then proved, via his McCracken County conviction, that he is incapable at this time of living life in a forthright manner required of a productive citizen."
Other conditions of Walker's sentence require he avoid "injurious or vicious habits," avoid persons or places of disreputable or harmful character, gain and maintain "suitable employment," comply with probation and parole and complete community service with the Murray State University Maintenance
Department to care for the memorial to Michael Minger, the student that died in the dorm fire.
Walker, 40, pleaded guilty in 2012 to six counts of tampering with physical evidence.
The charges stem from six letters Walker wrote in 1998 when he was a student at Murray State and suspected in a dorm fire that killed one student and injured several others. The letters, according to Commonwealth Attorney Mark Blankenship, accused other people of starting the blaze and derailed law enforcement's investigation.
Walker received a 10-year diverted sentence as part of his plea agreement, which stipulated the charges would be dropped after five years if Walker stayed out of trouble and adhered to certain conditions.
That agreement was violated on April 1 when Walker was convicted on similar charges in McCracken County and sentenced to three years in prison. Since his conviction, the commonwealth has argued Walker also should serve the 10-year sentence.
On Monday, Jameson sentenced Walker to one year in prison, which would run consecutively to his time in McCracken County.
Additionally, Jameson left the 10-year sentence from Walker's original agreement on the table, probating it for five years. That means if Walker is convicted of another felony offense within those five years, he could have to serve the remaining time.
In the sentencing order, Jameson wrote because Walker was never convicted on the suspicion he was involved in the dorm fire, he could not consider those accusations during his deliberations.
Jameson also wrote that he found the 10-year sentence to be excessive given that Walker had pleaded guilty to Class D felonies, the lowest level of felony offenses.
"Mr. Walker's crime is essentially authoring and submitting six different documents that resulted in significant difficulties in the investigation of the fire that occurred at MSU in 1998," the sentencing order states. "The law typically requires this court either probate or conditionally discharge class-D felony sentences, particularly if the defendant has no considerable criminal record."
In considering how to handle Walker's sentencing, Jameson wrote that he looked at "all of the convictions in Calloway Circuit Court over the last year" for those convicted of the same offense.
His research showed defendants found guilty of similar crimes were usually either probated for five years or sentenced to one or two years in prison.
"To allow the commonwealth to convince this court that Mr. Walker should be treated significantly more harshly, beyond what is appropriate under the circumstances ... would be patently unfair," Jameson wrote.
Additionally, Jameson noted Walker's pre-sentencing investigation showed he was at the "lowest level of risk" as far as re-offending. However, Jameson also recognized Walker's history showed a pattern of manipulation and dishonesty.
"Mr. Walker was given an opportunity (in 2012) to not be a convicted felon and walk away from his crimes with no felony conviction on his record if he could but behave for five years," Jameson wrote. "However, Mr. Walker then proved, via his McCracken County conviction, that he is incapable at this time of living life in a forthright manner required of a productive citizen."
Other conditions of Walker's sentence require he avoid "injurious or vicious habits," avoid persons or places of disreputable or harmful character, gain and maintain "suitable employment," comply with probation and parole and complete community service with the Murray State University Maintenance
Department to care for the memorial to Michael Minger, the student that died in the dorm fire.
