Man sentenced to 7 years for killing stepfather, but remains free for now

Monday afternoon, Whitley Circuit Judge Paul Winchester sentenced Keith Edward Mason to seven years in prison for shooting and killing his former stepfather, Robert "Bobby" Vanover, nearly two and one-half years ago but Mason didn’t go to jail.

He is still free on bond and will be until at least Oct. 22 when Winchester will conduct a hearing to determine whether he will allow Mason to remain free on bond while he appeals his case, a procedure that could take 18 to 24 months to complete.

Mason, an Oak Ridge resident, entered a conditional guilty plea on July 16 to the charge of second-degree manslaughter in exchange for prosecutors recommending a seven-year prison sentence.

However, an unusual condition of the plea deal is that prosecutors agreed to allow Mason to appeal the case based on a self-defense law passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2006.

If the appeals court sides with Mason, the case could be dismissed.

Ronald Bowling, one of Mason’s attorneys, feels pretty good about his client’s chances of winning the appeal, which is part of the reason he is asking for his client to remain free on bond while he appeals the case.

"There is a statute in Kentucky – relatively new less than 10 years old – that says if you have the right to defend yourself and if the court so finds then you are immune from prosecution," Bowling said.

"We feel very strongly that the law is in our favor and that Keith will get the justice he deserves from the court of appeals and possibly the Supreme Court of Kentucky."

Whether Mason should be allowed to remain free on bond while the appellate courts decide his fate is a matter that was hotly debated during Mason’s court appearance Monday.

Bowling asked Winchester to let his client remain free on a $25,000 cash bond while the issue was decided, but Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Trimble strongly objected.

Trimble noted that Mason was charged with a theft related offense in Knoxville, Tennessee, at a Harley Davidson dealership, while his manslaughter case was still pending in Kentucky.

The Tennessee case is scheduled for trial in September.

Bowling told Winchester that Mason informed him his Tennessee lawyer said the charge would be dismissed.

Trimble responded that he has spoken with the prosecutor in the case who says differently.

At the close of the 10-minute hearing, Winchester informed both sides that he would allow Mason to remain free on bond until the Oct. 22 hearing so Kentucky officials could see what was going to happen in the Tennessee case.

Victim’s family outraged

Suffice it to say that victim’s family strongly disagrees with Mason being allowed to remain free on bond until Oct. 22 or perhaps even later.

"He was a man just like any other man who went to see his son and he got shot," said Vanover’s niece, Holly Anderson.

"The justice system is allowing the person, who admitted to killing him, to be out on the street today. That is what I want people to know, he is out on the street today. He is walking the streets today and he admitted to killing him. Where is the justice for us?"
Vanover’s double first cousin, Linda Shepherd, said she is very surprised that Mason is still free on bond.

"The court system let’s him just stay out constantly on bond every time we come to court," Shepherd said Monday afternoon. "He doesn’t ever have to pay.

"We thought it would finally be over today and whatever happened today. We thought it would be done with and now we have another court date. We’re very disappointed. We just want justice."

Shirley Ball Hudson, Vanover’s aunt, said she thought that if you were out on bond and got arrested for another crime then your bond was supposed to be revoked

"Then they leave him out on bond? What kind of justice is that?" Hudson asked.

The shooting

Mason has never disputed shooting Vanover, 60, to death on Jan. 20, 2012, on a remote roadway in far western Whitley County only about 300 yards from the Tennessee state line, and has always claimed that he shot Vanover in self-defense.

The shooting happened about noon on Ayers Road on or near property that was owned by Mason’s mother. Vanover’s son, Kevin Vanover, was staying on his mother’s property and Bobby Vanover was there visiting him.

Mason told Bobby Vanover that he wasn’t supposed to be on the property, and that his mother had EPO’s and other various paperwork against him.

When the confrontation started Bobby Vanover reportedly told Keith Mason that even though Mason was half his age, he would whip him all over the road and then he struck Mason with a gazing blow to his lip, police testified.

After being struck, Keith Mason fired multiple shots striking Vanover in the chin, the upper chest area near the neck and in the side.

Vanover wasn’t armed with a gun, but police did find his mag flashlight at the crime scene near his body.

The plea agreement notes that the divorce between Vanover and Mason’s mother more than 20 years ago was acrimonious and that the victim hadn’t seen his biological son in nearly 20 years. The agreement also notes that Mason confronted the victim on a public road adjacent to a farm that Mason’s family owned, and that Mason shot and killed Vanover.

After the shooting, Mason spent 43 days in the Whitley County Detention Center before he was released after the grand jury issued no indictment against him on March 12, 2012.

The case was presented to the grand jury a second time on July 2, 2012, and the grand jury returned a second-degree manslaughter indictment against Mason.

The grand jury heard from three witnesses when the case was presented the second time including Whitley County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy K.Y. Fuson, who investigated the case, and from two of Vanover’s relatives, his mother, Della Vanover Terry, and Hudson, his aunt.

When asked Monday what she would like people to remember about her nephew, Hudson responded that Vanover was a hard working person who would be there in a minute to help a friend.

"If anybody ever had a problem, Bobby would be the first one you could call whether he liked you or he didn’t. He never felt he was below you, but he never felt you were any better than him," Hudson said.

Shepherd said that Vanover was a person who enjoyed life and was friendly towards anyone.

"He could walk up to anybody and talk to them and just act like he knew them for ever," she added. "Love of his family was always evident."