Florida Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Cop Killer

A jury has unanimously recommended the death penalty for the suspect responsible for the death of Highlands County, Florida, Sheriff’s Deputy William J. Gentry Jr.

https://www.policemag.com/patrol/news/15327027/florida-deputy-shot-killed-while-responding-to-dispute-over-cat

Joseph Ables was convicted last week for first-degree murder , after shooting the deputy in May 2018. He was also convicted of animal cruelty for fatally shooting a cat.

Deputy Gentry, 40, was responding to a dispute in Lake Placid when a woman called about someone shooting her cat dead, WFLA reports.

When the deputy approached then-69-year-old Ables, he shot him multiple times in the head.

The final sentence from the judge will be sometime in the future once pre-sentence court hearings are completed.