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Bradley given sentence in teen's killing
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Judge formally hands shooter 12 years
By Sally Voth -- svoth@nvdaily.com
WOODSTOCK -- Shenandoah County Circuit Judge Dennis L. Hupp formally sentenced Jody Lynn Bradley on Wednesday to 12 years in prison for the gunshot murder of Brendon Manning Barker.
That was the sentence handed down by a jury in August, and he is not permitted to increase that sentence, Hupp said. He did add six years -- three for Bradley's second-degree murder conviction and three for use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
However, state law requires that the additional sentence -- of which three years per count is the maximum -- be suspended, Hupp said. Once Bradley is released from prison, he will be on post-release supervision for six years, and if he violates the conditions of that, he could be sent back to prison for up to six years.
Bradley has always admitted to shooting 16-year-old Barker in the head the evening of Jan. 6. He had forbidden Barker, who was his daughter's boyfriend, from coming on his property, and repeated his threats to shoot Barker to several people.
After barricading his daughter, Sarah, and Barker in the attic of his home at 189 Wakemans Grove Road, Edinburg, Bradley fetched a pistol and a flashlight. He testified at trial that he "had an idea" the person with Sarah in the attic was Barker, but wasn't certain until after he fired the gun into the boy's forehead.
Barker's family and friends were outraged by the jurors' finding of second-degree murder, rather than first-degree, and by the nine years they affixed to that conviction. The firearm charge carries a mandatory three-year sentence.
Afterward, one juror said he felt Bradley should've gotten more time. Another said she felt a fellow juror had "blackmailed" the rest of the panel into a lesser conviction and light sentence.
"I fully understand how this tragic case has affected so many, many people," Hupp said. "A young life has been snuffed out, and a middle-aged man with no criminal record is behind bars."
Reading from a statement, Hupp said it wasn't his role to substitute his judgment for that of the jury.
"If judges do that, it would undermine the jury system," he said. "I cannot set aside a verdict simply because I do not like a verdict."
Setting aside a verdict without a sufficient and proper reason could result in a defendant going free because of the double-jeopardy principle, Hupp said.
He referred to the publicity surrounding the jury's verdict, saying it demonstrated how people can take different views of the evidence. Voluntary sentencing guidelines call for a 13- to 21-year sentence for second-degree murder, he said.
"I think the jury has been quite fair to Mr. Bradley," Hupp said.
As the judge was handing down the sentence, Barker's mother, Janeen Johannsen, sobbed into the shoulder of her husband, Jimmy.
Wednesday afternoon, she sat down in her Strasburg home to discuss her son and the murder trial.
"I can tell you that I am -- we all are -- horrified over the verdict and the sentencing," Johannsen said. "In that courtroom, those jurors had an obligation to bring justice, not just for Brendon, but for the entire community, for our children. I do hold them accountable in a huge way. I don't know how they can live with their conscience, knowing that they devalued the life of a child."
She believes jurors acquiesced to the demands of one panel member because they were getting tired, or frustrated, or bored, or wanted to return to work.
"If that was their child, they wouldn't want a reduction," Johannsen said. "That is such an insult. That's like rubbing salt into a horrible wound, and that's what they did to this family. And I do hold them each individually responsible for their participation in the outcome of Jody Bradley's murder trial."
She scoffed at the nine years given for her child's murder.
"How many years have been deprived from my son?" Johannsen asked. "How many years will we suffer for this? I can guarantee you, my life is like living in prison. There's not a single moment in the day that I don't think about what happened to my son and that I will have to live my life without my son. My future has been devastated. I would gladly serve ... the entire rest of my life in prison and have my son alive to live his life. I hold the jurors as responsible for the injustice done to my son as Jody Bradley, and that may sound harsh, but they had a responsibility to Brendon. Brendon was a person, a beautiful person, a wonderful member of their community.
"Now there's a clear message that someone could walk on your property and if you don't like [him], you can shoot him."
Not only have Johannsen and her family had to read comments on online message boards blaming Barker and Sarah for his death, she has even been told that to her face.
"Obviously, that just broke my heart that there are so many people that I run into that actually think what Jody Bradley did was somehow justified and that Sarah and Brendon are the ones that hold the responsibility for the outcome," she said.
Jimmy Johannsen added, "They're children, and he's a grown-up. And, this is supposed to be a civilized country, mind you."
I agree with everything Brendon's mother had to say. I'm very sorry for her loss. It is sad to know that 12 people were so cold-hearted as to let a child murderer off with a slap on the wrist. True justice will be done someday, when all is made whole again.
well ,im sad for this boys family . AND I REAL SAD THAT THIS CHILD DIDNT GET TO LIVE HIS LIFE TO THE FULLEST THAT WAS MEANT FOR HIM.this man (coward) has gotten away with cold blooded murder .its a shame that 12 people didnt value this boys life at all .even if they would have given him life in prison with out parole,that wouldnt even begin to satisfy this boys family.the death penalty wouldnt help either.although personally id rather see him in prison for life ,because that would bring misery to him .he may have to do 10 ,11 years with good behavior.TO THE BOYS FAMILY IM SORRY THAT YOU LIVE IN A COUNTY THAT LET YOU DOWN ,THIS COWARD WILL SUFFER GREATLY IN PRISON ,REST ASSURE HE WILL BE TORMENTED FOR HIS ACT OF COWARDICE. iTS A SHAME THAT THE JURY WAS SO SPINELESS TO DO THIS .GOD BLESS YOU,TO THE BOYS FAMILY AND I HOPE THAT God lets you FEEL HIS peace someday knowing your son is with him ,waiting to see you all some day .SO SAD, AGAIN God bless YOU TO THE FAMILY
It is never right to take the life of another unless you fear for your life or the life of another. The man was found guilty and sentensed to jail by a jury. Our system of justice is far from perfect butr it is all we have. Just think how you would feel if this man got off free. The boy and maybe His family should share some of the responibility for this boys death. If the boy had honored the mans wishes and stayed off his property thi9s would never had happened. I am 72 and if someone forbids me to come onto His property i will listen as well now as when i was under 18.
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