'Drunk, stupid and playing with guns.' Tusc. County man gets 8 years for killing friend
NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ A 37-year-old Uhrichsville man will serve eight years in prison for May's accidental shooting death of John Q. Bashline, II of Belmont County.
Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Ernest sentenced Dalbert W. "Dale" Sanders on Tuesday on charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, using weapons while intoxicated, gross abuse of a corpse and three counts of tampering with evidence. The involuntary manslaughter charge includes a gun specification that carries a mandatory three year sentence.
What happened:Uhrichsville man admits mistakenly shooting friend with a quick draw, dumping body
What happened to John Bashline?
Sanders shot his friend Bashline while he practicing quick draws with two handguns at a codefendant's home on Feed Springs Road in Mill Township.
After being shot through a lung, Bashline told Sanders to get him to a hospital, according to County Prosecutor Ryan D. Styer.
But instead of going to a hospital, Sanders told his two codefendants to put Bashline in the back of the injured man's car. They drove to a spot a block away from Dennison's Twin City Medical Center, where they left him. Along the way, Sanders threw Bashline's cellphone and wallet into a pond. The 37-year-old man from Powhatan Point was found dead on May 15.
Styer said the codefendants obeyed Sanders because they feared him. Had they called 911 instead of participating in Sanders' scheme after the shooting, they would not have been culpable, Styer said.
Before pronouncing the sentence, the judge referred to Sanders' own statement about losing an irreplaceable friend when Bashline died. Sanders had referred to Bashline's mother as "mama."
Ernest said Sanders acted only to protect himself, not his friend. He said leaving Bashline a block from the hospital "does absolutely nothing."
A citizen called the sheriff's office around 4:30 a.m. about the car with Bashline inside.
"Ultimately, this was an act of betrayal to his friend, John," Styer said. "How Mr. Sanders responded to this discharge of this firearm that killed John is absolutely repugnant to any sense of friendship or human decency. And furthermore, the fact that he took control of this situation at the time and brought two others down and into his scheme, his plan, to basically protect his own hide, makes this even worse."
Styer asked for Ernest to sentence Sanders to 12 years in prison.
Styer said the shooting occurred after a night of drinking rum, beer and using marijuana. He repeated the words Bashline's mother Melissa Dickson used to describe the incident: "They were drunk, stupid and playing with guns." She did not attend the sentencing.
The judge and the prosecutor noted that Sanders attended a baby shower later that day of the shooting.
An apology for being drunk and dumb
Given the chance to speak on his own behalf, Sanders said, "I'm sorry. I deeply regret what I've done. We were being drunk and dumb that night."
Styer said Bashline himself told Sanders to stop pointing the guns at him while he was practicing pulling them out and saying, "Bang."
A friend who spoke in court said Sanders was a friend of five years who knew the defendant to be the kind of person who would give someone else the shirt off his back. He said Sanders and Bashline had been close friends. The man called the shooting death a "freak accident" and called Sanders a "hell of a friend."
"Dale will have to live with this for the rest of his life," said defense attorney John R. Watters, II. He asked the judge to put his client on probation rather than send him to prison. He said Sanders and Bashline were best friends for 10 years and called each other "brother." Watters said Sanders' "poor decisions" resulted from panic.
Styer said the death of the son she called "JQ" had left Bashline's mother lost. They had lived together.
"No doubt, she absolutely relied on him," he said.
Cases against codefendants Michael P. Reynolds, 37, and Dominic A. Reynolds, 27, are pending.
Michael Reynolds and his nephew, Dominic, are both charged with tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. Michael Reynolds lives in Uhrichsville and Dominic Reynolds lives in Mill Township.
Dominic is scheduled for a change of plea hearing on Feb. 6. Michael is scheduled for a jury trial Feb. 1.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Dalbert W. Sanders sentenced for killing John Q. Bashline
