Donald Gentry tried to turn his life around before he was murdered.
Before his death on Sept. 12, Gentry, 66, seemed to have changed since his time in prison for charges of dealing methamphetamines in August 2009. During that investigation, police found $11,000 in cash, drug paraphernalia and a loaded pistol in his home in Martinsville. He was then convicted on charges of dealing meth and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
After serving only three years and eight months of a 10-year sentence, Gentry petitioned Judge Teresa Harper to reduce his sentence.
“In those three years and eight months I’ve served, I’ve had no write ups or conduct reports,” Gentry said.
During his sentence, Gentry went through — and passed — an eight-month substance abuse program, and court records show that Gentry had maintained his sobriety for at least three years after his 2012 release from prison.
Gentry wrote several letters to Judge Harper asking for early release based on good behavior so he could return to his family and be accepted into the Community Transition Program.
“I was hoping to be at home for Christmas this year,” Gentry wrote on Dec. 16, 2011.
CTP provides assistance to criminals who are returning to society as they try to adjust and reacquaint themselves with life outside of prison.
Upon his release in 2012, Gentry was under supervised probation for 10 years, but he only had to serve three years of that probation, since there were no reports of misconduct. Gentry seemed to have turned his life around like he said he would when he wrote to Judge Harper in 2011.
“I’ll do my best to not let you down in your decision for helping me,” Gentry said.
Before his imprisonment for dealing meth in 2009, he had numerous other prior charges, including possession of marijuana and methamphetamines in 1996 and possession of marijuana in 2004.
Gentry pleaded guilty both times.
However, after his latest release in 2012, Gentry seemed to have changed. Judge Harper released him from supervised probation after only three years because Gentry had, according to court documents, “multiple health issues to be managed.”
Gentry suffered from diabetes, which made it difficult and even painful for him to walk, former neighbor Angela Walker said.
At the time of his death, Gentry was living alone in a mobile home at S. State Road 37. His neighbor at the time of his death, Kathy Mobley, said Gentry was a kind man and he would do anything for anybody.
He often allowed Mobley to borrow pots and pans as well as use his lawn mower to keep their yard clean-cut.
The only witness to the murder was his dog, a pug named Starbell, who was run over by a Duke Energy truck Friday.
Gentry was killed Monday, Sept. 12. He suffered from multiple beatings to the head. Monroe County Coroner Nicole Meyer said there was no way to determine which blow was fatal.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating Gentry’s murder.
