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KENTUCKY,FRIDAY AFTERNOON, SEPTEMBER 26, 1969TO TROY REEVESBy LONNIE D. STUARTAssociated Press WriteiWILLIAMSBURG, Ky. (AP) — A calm, unemotional Troy Reeves stood in Whitley Circuit Court Thursday and heard himself sentenced to 21 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter.The jury deliberated only 40 minutes before returning the verdict against the 20-year-old Bell County youth. It was read by Judge Pleas Jones.SummationReeves was convicted on charges of shooting James Lee Johnson, 20, of Frakes, Ky., last December. He also faces charges in four other slayings, including that of Bell County Attv. William S. Tribell.Judge Jones turned the casein to the jury after a lengthy final summation by prosecuting attorney W. L. Rose.Rose based his plea for the death penalty on a pathologist’s report which said Johnson was shot four times and the bullets apparently entered his body from four different directions.Rose also noted that Reeves waited six days before reporting the shooting.The shooting took place on a wooded hillside a short distance from the Reeves home. Reeves said in a statement that he shot Johnson when the youth tried tohit him with a shotgun. He said they were returning home from the Tennessee mountain cabin where a triple shooting had taken place earlier.He later led officers to the spot where Johnson’s body lay covered by a coat in a shallow grave.Victims of the triple shooting were Dewey Partin. 21, Frakes, Ky.; Claude Dixon, 23, Pearl Village, Ky.; and Larry Thacker. 23. LaFollette, Tenn. Reeves also has been indicted in Claiborne County. Tennessee on charges stemming from thethree deaths.8 PAGES 10 CENT!The fifth death occurred near the Reeves home as Tribell, 34, led a group of officers in a search for Reeves.Tribell was found dead of 22 caliber rifle wounds after he became separated from the group of officers. Reeves surrendered to authorities shortly after the shooting, and while in the county jail, directed officers to Johnson's body.Only four witnesses testified for the prosecution. No witnesses were called by the defense attorney, Lowell Lundy.Brief ArgumentLundy based his brief finalargument on the statement by Reeves, which he said showed Johnson was shot in self defense.Judge Jones said the youth will be delivered to LaGrange Reformatory for processing before being sent to a state penitentiary. lie said action to move Reeves to Bell County or to Tennessee would be at the discretion of law enforcement officials in the two counties involved.Judge Jones said the defense probably will appeal the conviction.Pension Reform
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Corbin Daily Tribune
Corbin, Kentucky, US
Fri, Sep 26, 1969
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