Uniontown man sentenced up to 48 years for 2017 love-triangle shooting death
A Uniontown man will serve up to 48 years in prison for the third-degree murder of another man exactly one year after the shooting incident took place in a drug-fueled love triangle.
“This was a disaster waiting to happen,” said Fayette County Judge Steve Leskinen before sentencing Wiley Estill Gambrel, 59, on Wednesday to 24 to 48 years in a state correctional institution for the murder of James “Jay” Plance.
Gambrel received one-year credit for time served beginning on July 18, 2017.
Following a week of testimony, a jury determined on Monday that Gambrel shot the 45-year-old Plance in the head on July 18, 2017, in front of the victim’s girlfriend, stuffed his body into a cardboard box, loaded it onto his van with a dolly and dumped it at his Georges Township HVAC shop.
Plance and his girlfriend, Deana Jean Hughes, 34, traded sex with Gambrel for crack cocaine, which was something Leskinen said the combination of extra-marital sex and a $200 to $600 a day drug habit could serve as a perfect warning to anyone wanting to get involved with drug use.
“This created a volatile situation,” Leskinen said. “It’s a cancer–it’s worse than a cancer on our society.”
Fayette County District Attorney Rich Bower pushed for a sentence of 24 to 49 years in prison for Gambrel, whom Bower said has a history with guns and violence against women as he read from an indictment from Kentucky in 1995 where Gambrel was found guilty of violating a protection from abuse order by stalking a woman and then restraining her by pointing a rifle at her.
“I think that goes to his character,” Bower said, pointing out the similarities of both cases. “I think the court should take that into consideration.”
Gambrel’s attorney, assistant public defender Michael Aubele, said he came to know Gambrel since he was first incarcerated a year ago and said Gambrel has maintained his innocence throughout, adding that he was being played and used by Hughes and Plance.
“He didn’t start using crack cocaine until he met them,” Aubele said.
Bower argued that Gambrel shouldn’t be painted as the victim as the jury found him guilty, making Gambrel a convicted murderer.
“He was 58 years old when he did it, he made the decision to get involved with it, he pulled the trigger,” Bower said. “He’s not the victim, he’s the murderer.”
Speaking on behalf of Plance’s family on Wednesday was his cousin, Debra Wright, who said there was no way she could express how much pain Gambrel caused Plance’s family.
“No matter what your reason was, you played God and now you have to answer to God,” Wright said, adding that she hopes Gambrel dies in prison with no dignity or respect much like in the way he showed to her cousin. “I hope prison is hell.”
Prior to sentencing, Leskinen said Gambrel had opportunities to learn from his past incident in Kentucky, he had the chance to walk away from Plance’s text message to him the day of the shooting that they should end the friendship, he could have called 911 after the shooting instead of trying to cover up the crime scene and inflamed the sensibilities of Plance’s family by treating the victim’s body in an undignified way.
“Clearly, this could have been avoided,” Leskinen said, adding that he agreed with the jury on not believing Gambrel’s testimony at trial that Hughes was the one who shot Plance and that Gambrel gave a false confession to protect her. “Your performance at trial was direct contrary to what occurred.”
Gambrel did not make a statement prior to sentencing.
Aubele said he will file an appeal.