Man sentenced to 28 years for store’s robbery
A Marion County man found guilty by a Franklin County jury of robbing a local gas station at knifepoint was sentenced to 28 years in prison on Friday, officials said.
James Wesley Ennis, 1635 Marion 40, Hamilton, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Terry Dempsey Friday morning for the May 10, 2009 robbery of what is now Legacy Chevron on U.S. 43 in Russellville.
Ennis was found guilty of first-degree robbery, a Class A felony, on August 23 after a three-day long trial and five hours of deliberation by the jury.
Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said the state asked Dempsey to sentence Ennis between the minimum 20 years to life in prison based on the facts of the case.
“This was a first-degree robbery case where a weapon was used,” Rushing said. “Mr. Ennis has also never taken responsibility for his actions from day one despite the fact that there was overwhelming evidence to convict him.”
Numerous people spoke on Ennis’ behalf, including Ennis himself who maintained his innocence. Before he made his ruling, Dempsey said he had weighed both the mitigating and aggravating factors in the case.
Dempsey said even though he had considered the mitigating factors of Ennis’ age and the fact he had no previous record, the aggravating factors of the case such as Ennis using a weapon and the fact he believed the state had proved their case at trial beyond a reasonable doubt led to his decision to sentence Ennis to a prison term of 28 years and deny a Community Corrections sentence.
Rushing said in Alabama, people who commit Class A felonies involving violence typically spend 85 percent of their sentence in prison, so Ennis should be incarcerated for over 20 years.
“We believe Judge Dempsey was correct in sentencing Mr. Ennis to a long prison term because it was a senseless crime that has affected the victim’s life to this day,” Rushing said. “This sends the message that denying your involvement in a crime will not let you escape the justice of committing such an act.”
