Whitley brothers get 12, 15 years respectively for 2008 shooting death

Brothers James A. and James W. Anderson, who pleaded guilty in May to shooting and killing in Larry Dean Jones 2008, were sentenced Tuesday to 15 and 12 years, respectively, as recommended by commonwealth attorneys.

James A. Anderson, 35 and James W. Anderson, 41, were handcuffed together as they were brought before Senior Judge Roderick Messer to be sentenced. The brothers, who had been indicted on one count of murder and one count of complicity to commit murder, had pleaded guilty in May to an amended charge of first-degree manslaughter.

Neither man said anything as Messer handed down the sentences.

Under Kentucky law, an individual must serve 85 percent of a sentence if the charge is first-degree manslaughter before he or she is eligible for parole.

According to police, Jones’ body was found lying in a ditch beside Cane Gap Road on June 20, 2008 with three bullet wounds to the head.

The brothers later admitted to shooting Jones. James A. Anderson told investigators he shot Jones in self-defense. James W. Anderson initially claimed that he had been knocked unconscious during an altercation with Jones, and woke up upon hearing the shots fired.

Six other family members were charged as accessories after the fact.

Three of those family members, Tammy Marie Podsaid, 42, Gloria Perry, 62, and Larry Perry, 57, pleaded guilty to charges of tampering with physical evidence. As part of the agreement, charges of criminal facilitation to commit murder were dismissed. Larry Perry and Podsaid were ordered to serve 120 days in jail, while prosecutors recommended that three-year prison sentences for each were probated for three years.

Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss charges of facilitation to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence against James Lee Podsaid, 38.

John Anderson had pleaded guilty to an amended charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution. In return, prosecutors recommended a 12-month jail sentence conditionally discharged for two years.

Jason A. Anderson, 33, is still awaiting trial on a charge of criminal facilitation to commit murder.