By MATT THACKER
The New Albany man who purchased the handgun used to shoot two Jeffersonville Police Department officers earlier this year was sentenced in federal court Monday to 37 months in prison.
Vincent D. Windell Jr., 23, entered a plea of guilty in the U.S. District Court in New Albany to the unlawful transfer of a firearm to a convicted felon.
“What I did was irresponsible. It should never have been done,” Windell told Judge David Frank Hamilton before Hamilton gave the sentence.
On Dec. 10, 2008, Windell purchased a TISAS .45-caliber handgun and a .38-caliber revolver from a Jeffersonville gun store. Robert Datillo, 37, then paid Windell for the firearms.
Datillo reportedly used the .45-caliber handgun Feb. 19 to shoot JPD Cpl. Dan Lawhorn and Patrolman Keith Broady when they responded to a call of suspicious activity at Motel 6 in Jeffersonville. According to police, Datillo fatally shot himself the next day following a standoff with police at a house in Louisville. Windell was later arrested at his father’s house in New Albany.
Lawhorn, who was shot in an artery in his leg, and Broady, who was shot in the chest, returned to work this month following numerous surgeries and months of rehabilitation.
Assistant U.S. District Attorney Matthew J. Rinka said the case is a textbook example of why Congress has passed legislation forbidding convicted felons from having firearms.
“The defendant has found himself the poster child for [firearms laws],” Rinka said.
Rinka acknowledged that Windell was not directly involved in the shooting, but said, “he put that pistol in Robert Datillo’s hand and then stood back and watched.”
Charlie Scarber, special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified Monday that Windell said he knew Datillo had spent time in jail. Scarber said Windell rented a room in his name for Datillo and that law enforcement found pipe bombs and shell casings in the room. He said Windell indicated he knew about the pipe bombs being there.
“The defendant was cooperative and did admit wrongdoing,” Scarber said of Windell.
Windell’s attorney, Jennifer Culotta, argued that Windell was looking for someone to fill the void left when his brother died, and that allowed Datillo to manipulate him.
“My client was pressured by Mr. Windell to purchase the weapons and eventually succumbed to that pressure,” Culotta said.
The U.S. attorney argued against that theory, stating that the day before he purchased two weapons for Datillo, Windell purchased two other firearms from the same gun store. Scarber said Windell returned one gun to the store and sold the second gun to a stranger.
Culotta said that Windell’s crime ended in the parking lot of the gun shop when he handed the weapon over to Datillo.
“Do you think I should ignore the consequences of this case?” Hamilton asked her.
Culotta said no, but added that she does not believe Windell would have been charged if Datillo had survived and went to trial.
The judge disagreed.
“We see that in a lot of mass shootings whether it be Virginia Tech [University] or Fort Hood [Texas] ... they try to go back and find out what enabled this crime,” Hamilton said.
While finding nothing in the sentencing guidelines about taking into consideration the outcome of a crime, Hamilton compared the situation to firing shots at a crowd. If people are injured, the shooter faces a more serious charge than if the bullets hit no one.
“We do take consequences into account,” the judge said.
Windell still faces a class D felony charge of assisting a criminal in Clark County Superior Court No. 3 for renting the motel room where Datillo was staying. He could be sentenced to six months to three years in prison if convicted on that case.
Windell also must pay a $1,000 fine and will have three years of supervised release, or probation, after he is released from prison. Based on the federal justice system, Windell will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence.
The judge said he will receive credit for the eight months he has already been incarcerated.
Windell could have been sentenced to as many as 10 years in prison on that charge, but a plea agreement capped the possible sentence at 37 months.
Windell’s attorney was hoping for a lesser sentence.
“I’m very disappointed,” Culotta said after the hearing. “I protected Vincent realizing the government was out for blood. It was an uphill battle.”
Kyle Bieber, 19, also helped rent the motel room for Datillo. In July, Bieber received a one-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal and unrelated receiving stolen property and burglary charges. Bieber was released in August based on time served and credit for good time.
