Gear given consecutive life sentences

Posted on June 9, 2017

Billy Lee Gear, 37, received consecutive life prison sentences Thursday morning for the January 2016 killing of his former girlfriend, Melissa Darnell.

Two weeks ago, a jury found Gear guilty of the top two indictments against him: first degree murder and kidnapping, both of which carry mandatory life sentences (the kidnapping charge stemmed from allegations that he forcibly pulled the victim into the woods where she was killed).

PHOTO: Despite having just received two consecutive life sentences only minutes before, Billy Gear, right, still managed to laugh during an exchange regarding his continued eligibility for court-appointed counsel.

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