Sentence Reduced For Gingerich; Could Be Freed In Months
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Michael Anderson-manderson@timesuniononline.com
Paul Gingerich, who was originally sentenced to 25 years in prison, will likely serve less than seven years behind bars. Gingerich was 12 when he and his friend, Colt Lundy, who was 15 at the time, fatally shot Lundy’s stepfather, Phil Danner, near Cromwell in 2010. Gingerich pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit to murder and was originally sentenced to 30 years with five years suspended. The sentence drew national attention to the case and outrage from some criminal justice advocates. Circumstances changed after the Indiana General Assembly enacted “Paul’s Law,” which allows alterative sentences for juvenile who are convicted of serious crimes. During a hearing in Kosciusko?Circuit Court Friday, special Judge James Heuer modified the original sentence under the new law. With the new sentence, Gingerich will serve 20 years in prison with 10 years suspended. In about two weeks, Gingerich will be transfered to the Pendleton Industrial Facility and will serve 300 days in prison. After that, he will be transfered to an Allen County re-entry program where he will serve the rest of the his sentence on home detention in Fort Wayne with his mother. With good time credits and other factors, Gingerich could be released from prison after three months. With credit for time served, he is now expected to be on house arrest until April 28, 2020, and then faces 10 years on probation. Gingerich apologized for his actions during Friday’s hearing. “I know I’ve committed a horrible crime. I will never stop being sorry,” he said. He said he has been participating in therapy in the prison to learn to take responsibly for his actions and learn how to make moral decisions. “I will be a leader,” he said. Heuer said he had never seen such a case in his 25 years on the bench, and said he had to balance the accomplishments of Gingerich in prison with the impact of the violent crime. In a press conference after the hearing, Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton read letters from Danner’s family. “We understand that Paul’s family wants him to come home, we also want Phil to come home, but Colt and Paul’s decision made that impossible,” Kim Wilson, Danner’s sister, said in a letter to the judge. Hampton said the family had a difficult time with Heuer’s decision but tried to take solace in the fact that Gingerich would be under state supervision for the rest of the sentence. “People who commit these crimes are wired differently,” Hampton said. He said you would need a crystal ball to predict when or if someone would reoffend. One of the biggest problem’s with Paul’s Law is that adult convictions dont get entered in the state criminal database, Hampton said. Gingerich’s attorney, Monica Foster, called the decision a big win. “He has been punished. This is a kid with a conscience. This is going to weigh on him for the rest of his life,” she said. Like most kids his age, Gingerich is constantly changing his mind about what he wants to do with his future, Foster said. “I think he will do great things,” she said. Colt Lundy’s motion for a sentence modification was denied in March. His current expect release date is May 30, 2022.
