Gary Wayne Mullins was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison on charges he spent months bullying an elderly man out of thousands of dollars. His victim, George Jacobs, 84, died less than 24 hours after testifying against Mullins in February.
During a nearly half-hour verbal haranguing Thursday, a judge told Gary Wayne Mullins -- who was convicted earlier this year of kidnapping after he targeted an elderly man in a grocery store parking lot and bullied him out of thousands of dollars -- that he was a "menace to society."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- During a nearly half-hour verbal haranguing Thursday, a judge told Gary Wayne Mullins -- who was convicted earlier this year of kidnapping after he targeted an elderly man in a grocery store parking lot and bullied him out of thousands of dollars -- that he was a "menace to society."
"That day in the parking lot, you were no friend, and he was no friend of you," Kanawha Circuit Judge Carrie Webster told Mullins, 50, during his sentencing hearing. "You had to have seen the vulnerability of this man."
Webster sentenced Mullins to 25 years in prison for the kidnapping of 84-year-old George Jacobs. The sentence was 25 years less than what prosecutors had recommended for Mullins, whom they say has made a career of bullying elderly people out of money.
Jacobs died less than 24 hours after testifying in Mullins' trial.
"It would be very easy for me to give you the maximum," Webster said. "But I'm going to use judicial temperament because that's my job."
On Jan. 11, 2011, Mullins slipped into the passenger seat of Jacobs' car as the elderly man was pulling into a parking space at the Kanawha City Kroger, according to trial testimony.
Kanawha County assistant prosecutor Erica Lord said at the time that Mullins was scoping the parking lot for a target.
When he was inside the vehicle, Mullins demanded $2,000 from Jacobs. When he said he didn't have the money, Mullins told Jacobs to drive him to his home to retrieve the cash. He returned to the home for months afterward, milking him for more money.
"The defendant's actions caused my father to suffer greatly," Charleston attorney Pat Jacobs said during Thursday's sentencing.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- During a nearly half-hour verbal haranguing Thursday, a judge told Gary Wayne Mullins -- who was convicted earlier this year of kidnapping after he targeted an elderly man in a grocery store parking lot and bullied him out of thousands of dollars -- that he was a "menace to society."
"That day in the parking lot, you were no friend, and he was no friend of you," Kanawha Circuit Judge Carrie Webster told Mullins, 50, during his sentencing hearing. "You had to have seen the vulnerability of this man."
Webster sentenced Mullins to 25 years in prison for the kidnapping of 84-year-old George Jacobs. The sentence was 25 years less than what prosecutors had recommended for Mullins, whom they say has made a career of bullying elderly people out of money.
Jacobs died less than 24 hours after testifying in Mullins' trial.
"It would be very easy for me to give you the maximum," Webster said. "But I'm going to use judicial temperament because that's my job."
On Jan. 11, 2011, Mullins slipped into the passenger seat of Jacobs' car as the elderly man was pulling into a parking space at the Kanawha City Kroger, according to trial testimony.
Kanawha County assistant prosecutor Erica Lord said at the time that Mullins was scoping the parking lot for a target.
When he was inside the vehicle, Mullins demanded $2,000 from Jacobs. When he said he didn't have the money, Mullins told Jacobs to drive him to his home to retrieve the cash. He returned to the home for months afterward, milking him for more money.
"The defendant's actions caused my father to suffer greatly," Charleston attorney Pat Jacobs said during Thursday's sentencing.
The criminal investigation, the preparation for the trial, and the stress of testifying against Mullins sapped the energy from his father, and ultimately played a role in his death, Pat Jacobs said.
"The defendant is nothing but a predator," he said. "He is the lowest form of life."
Anne Jacobs, George Jacobs' daughter, also spoke during the sentencing.
"I came down from Cleveland, Ohio, to tell him that he is evil," she said.
During the trial, Mullins' lawyers argued that his actions did not amount to a criminal act. Mullins agreed to eventually pay back the money, and the two men even met with a banker who drew up a promissory note arranging the terms of the loan.
Mullins said he was sorry that George Jacobs had passed away, but denied that his actions amounted to kidnapping.
"I'm not here to say I'm an angel," he said, "but I never kidnapped nobody."
He plans to appeal his conviction.
Reach Zac Taylor at Zachary.Tay...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.
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