Convicted double murderer sentenced to 80 years prison

Jul. 12—PRINCETON — A Mercer County man was sentenced to 80 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to two second-degree murder charges in April.

Kenneth Jacob Adkins, 21, was given the maximum sentence by Mercer County Circuit Court Judge William Sadler, who said the 2020 murders of Dalton Ramsey and Josh Williams of Lashmeet, who were 19 years old, were unprovoked.

"As he (Adkins) pulled the trigger, repeatedly, they (Ramsey and Williams) were not engaged in any activity that could have been seen as threatening," Sadler said.

Assistant Prosecutor Lauren Lynch also said Adkins never showed any remorse for the killings.

"He took two lives and he never expressed any remorse and never understood the gravity of what he did that night," she said.

Adkins was arrested on March 13, 2020, in Ohio, two days after Ramsey and Williams were gunned down while sitting in their truck on Reese Harmon Road.

According to previous testimony, their bodies were discovered the morning of March 12 by a homeowner in the Lashmeet area. Capt. Joe Parks of the Mercer County Sheriff's Department said the victims were initially shot in a vehicle on Reese Harmon Ridge.

"They (Ramsey and Williams) were both in a car," Parks said after Adkins was arrested. "He (Adkins) approached from the driver's side and started shooting. They ran toward the residence and he followed behind continuing to shoot."

The motive for the shooting was never clear.

The initial charges were first-degree murder but reduced to second-degree murder in a plea deal. During the plea agreement hearing in April, Lynch said Ramsey was acquainted with Adkins.

"There were some text messages between Dalton and Josh earlier that day because Dalton and Josh were really good friends, and they had known each other for a while; and Dalton was hanging out with the defendant that day and asked Josh to come pick him up at the basketball courts," she said. "Those were the last text messages that we had obtained and Dalton asked Josh to come pick him up. He asked if he was at Kenneth's and he said yes."

Lynch said that during the initial investigation police noticed a duffle bag that belonged to one of the deceased was on the porch of the defendant's residence.

"They obviously inquired about that and then upon searching that residence, in the defendant's room they found the holster that the 380 belonged to, ammunition for the .380, but the .380 was never recovered," she said.

Investigators also recovered two casings from a .380-caliber handgun near the truck.

A security video from a nearby home was found.

"The video did not show the actual shooting, but you could hear the gunshots in the video that occurred around 10:46 (p.m.) the night before, and then after that you see a figure which cannot be positively identified as Mr. Adkins; but circumstantially he comes from the crime scene to his residence and then his bedroom light turns on and turns off," Lynch said.

"They later obtained statements from the defendant's parents and they did state that he came in late that night and exclaimed that he had shot somebody," she added. "After that, he then took off to Ohio and he arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Ohio."

Before the sentencing Monday, several family members and friends of Ramsey and Williams testified about the impact the murders have had.

Steven Ramsey, Dalton Ramsey's father, said it was difficult to describe what it's like to lose a child or for daughters to lose a brother or a child to lose a father.

"These young men had their whole lives in front of them," he said. "They were like brothers. A child will now have to grow up without a father."

As he stepped away from the courtroom podium to return to his seat Ramsey turned toward Adkins, stared at him, and said, "F--- you, you piece of s---!"

Robin Dalton, a close friend of the family, fought back tears as she tried to describe what life has been like since the murders.

"There is pain and hurt and anger in my heart," she said, adding that she no longer knows what it is like to have a "good day" and she can't celebrate the holidays because she knows Dalton Ramsey will not see his child grow up.

"Dalton was beautiful and loving and kind," she said, "always smiling. He loved life."

She said any sentence "won't bring him back, but I pray no one else can ever suffer at your hands (looking at Adkins)."

Dave Dalton said he was like a brother to Ramsey and now must fill in as a brother to the sisters.

"Nothing is more precious than time and life," he said. "Those are the only two things we have."

He said one of the ways to help the victims' family and friends to heal "is to know he (Adkins) is going away forever."

Adkins remained expressionless during the proceeding, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and leg and hand cuffs, sitting between his attorneys. He also did not say anything when Sadler asked him if he wanted to speak before handing down the sentence.

No family or friends spoke on behalf of Adkins during the sentencing.

His attorney, Robbie Dumpit, said letters had been sent to several people asking if they wanted to say anything before the sentencing. But no one answered in the affirmative.

Dumapit said a friend of Adkins indicated he would testify by phone, but he could not be reached.

Before sentencing, Dumapit said the murders were "not an excusable action," but he asked the court to consider "all the circumstances."

Those circumstances, he said, included a "horrible upbringing" Adkins had endured as well as mental health problems.

"He really never had a chance," Dumapit said.

Sadler then reviewed the case and the reasons for the sentencing and agreed that Adkins had a "harsh upbringing" and a history of mental health issues.

However, he said, based on psychiatric evaluations of Adkins, his mental issues "did not rise to the extent to render him" incompetent when the murders were committed so there was "no legal excuse."

Sadler also said there were indications Adkins had tried to make himself "look worse than he actually is" during evaluations and did not "appreciate the gravity" of what he had done.

"Mental illness doesn't mean he is stupid," Sadler said, and Adkins had displayed cognitive abilities that exceed his educational level (a high school dropout). "He is a relatively intelligent individual."

Sadler said the victims were "only 19 and their lives were just beginning" but all of that had been taken away from them and their families.

After almost 16 years as a judge and 10 years before that as a prosecutor, Sadler said dealing with murder cases is "one thing you never get used to."

He said it is always the intent of the judicial system to make the victims of crime whole as "the best we can," which may be possible in crimes related to money and property.

"But it never happens" in murder cases," he said. "There is nothing I can do, nothing I can say, to approach making the people who suffer the loss whole. You suffer a lot and, to be honest, you will never get over it."

After the sentencing, Steven Ramsey said he was satisfied with the outcome of the case.

"I think the prosecutor did an awesome job," he said, adding that he wished the initial charges of first-degree murder would have stayed.

Robin Dalton also said she was pleased with the sentence.

"I am very satisfied," Dalton said. "Nothing is going to bring our boy back ... but nobody should have to go through that. I think we finally got some justice."

Lynch said Adkins will be up for parole in 20 years, minus more than 800 days already served.

"That obviously is a parole board decision," she said of his possible release at that time, adding that they will take the fact he was convicted of two murders into consideration.

"The Mercer County Sheriff's Department investigated this case and Det. Lt. Steve Sommers, and they did a really good job," she said.

"What a tragedy that was and very frustrating for us because it should never have happened," said Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Cochran. "Assistant Prosecutor Lauren Lynch and our law enforcement officers worked very hard and did a great job in bringing the case to a successful resolution."

Dumapit also said Adkins had requested to be transferred from Southern Regional Jail to another regional jail in West Virginia.

Sadler said he would recommend a transfer but that is a decision of the state Department of Corrections.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com