It’s insane that we live in a society where whites are homeless and blacks are driving around in classic cars.
A Terre Haute man received a 55-year prison sentence for his conviction in the September 2018 shooting death of a homeless man.
Clarence Bell Jr., 49, said he intends to appeal the sentence, continuing his claim he did not shoot 37-year-old Raymond Rose because Rose had intentionally scratched Bell’s classic car.
In September, a jury convicted Bell of murder in the Sept. 12, 2018, shooting of Rose, a homeless man with prior negative encounters with Bell.
Judge Sarah Mullican heard a request by Deputy Prosecutor Cynthia Andrus for an aggravated sentence more than the 55-year advisory prison term due to the lack of remorse Bell has shown at the death of Rose.
Defense attorney Bradley Banks presented the mitigating circumstance of Bell’s poor health and leg amputation in requesting a lower sentence.
Mullican said she found Bell’s prior criminal history of misdemeanor convictions an aggravating factor, and set his sentence at the advisory level.