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Jury recommends death penalty for man convicted in Highland County deputy’s murder

By FOX 13 News Staff
Published  October 28, 2024 5:50pm EDT
Highlands County
FOX 13 News

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    LAKE PLACID, Fla. - A jury recommended the death penalty for a man convicted in the murder of a Highlands County deputy on Monday. 

    Joseph Ables was found guilty of first-degree murder last week by the jury for the death of Highlands County Deputy William Gentry back in 2018, according to State Attorney Brian Haas' office. The jury deliberated for just one hour, officials said. 

    Pictured: Joseph Ables in a Highlands County courtroom. 

    Gentry was one of the Highlands County deputies called to a dispute at a home on Baltimore Way in Lake Placid back in May 2018. A neighbor called deputies after they said Ables shot and killed a neighborhood cat with a pellet gun. 

    RELATED: Suspect claims he 'blacked out,' doesn't remember shooting Highlands deputy

    While at the scene, Gentry learned Ables was a felon on probation. Minutes later, though, witnesses heard gunshots. 

    According to an original arrest report, Ables told deputies that he remembered nothing about the shooting and claimed he was a Vietnam veteran with PTSD. He told investigators he remembers a neighbor coming over to ask if he shot her cat, followed by a male approaching his front door wearing a gun belt with a gun. 

    Pictured: Highlands County Deputy William Gentry with Sheriff Paul Blackman.

    Ables claimed he blacked out at that point – and the next thing he remembered was being put on the pavement by law enforcement officers.

    PREVIOUS: Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against suspect in deputy's murder

    The Highlands County Sheriff's Office made a statement on social media following the jury's recommendation. They also said the final sentence from the judge will be delivered in the future following the required court hearings for the case. 

    "Once again, we would like to thank the State Attorney's Office, 10th Judicial Circuit, for their hard work in seeing that justice was delivered for both the Gentry family and the HCSO family," the statement read.

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