VAN BUREN — An Ellsinore man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was sentenced Wednesday for the July 2018 shooting death of an acquaintance.
Jason E. Roberts, 46, appeared before Circuit Judge Steven Privette for sentencing after having been convicted of the Class A felony of first-degree murder and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action (ACA) by a Carter County jury in October.
Roberts was convicted of the July 17, 2018, death of Rudy H. Hernandez. The 34-year-old died from a gunshot wound to the head.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Missouri Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Coffin, who prosecuted the case, read into the record letters from Hernandez’s stepmother, mother and sister because they all live out of state, said Carter County Sheriff Rick Stephens.
“I know the stepmom talked about how she felt; she not only lost her stepson, but the victim’s dad,” Stephen said.
The woman, the sheriff said, indicated her husband’s health had declined since his son’s death, so “she felt he had been taken as well.”
Stephens said all three spoke in their letters about how Hernandez was a good father, with a good family, and how he “had issues at the time, like everyone does, but he was a good person.”
Stephens said Roberts also spoke briefly and was apologetic.
After hearing from both sides, Privette sentenced Roberts to life without the possibility of parole in the Missouri Department of Corrections on the murder charge and 20 years on the ACA.
Privette reportedly ordered Roberts’ sentences to be served concurrently.
According to earlier reports, authorities learned of Hernandez’s death at about 12:10 a.m. July 17, 2108, when deputies with the Carter County Sheriff’s Department and ambulance personnel were sent to a home on County Road 327 in Ellsinore for a reported shooting.
Witnesses identified Roberts, who had a dispute with Hernandez the prior evening, as the shooter and reported he had fled Hernandez’s home on foot, armed with a rifle.
An extensive manhunt was conducted by officers with the sheriff’s department, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Ellsinore Police Department.
After four days on the lam, Roberts turned himself in to deputies and was taken into custody without incident in the Ellsinore area.
Authorities earlier described Roberts as an acquaintance of Hernandez.