WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Mingo County Prosecutor Duke Jewell says he hopes recovery can soon be on the way for the family of murdered coal executive Ben Hatfield with the second and final conviction in the case.
On Thursday, A Mingo County jury found Brandon Fitzpatrick, 20, of Louisa, Kentucky, guilty in the 2016 shooting death of Hatfield. The jury found that he helped co-defendant Anthony Arriaga 22, of Delphos, Ohio, kill Hatfield during a robbery attempt at Memory Garden Cemetery in Maher. Hatfield was there at the graves of family members when the pair spotted his SUV and decided to steal it.
The jury found Fitzpatrick guilty of first-degree murder but not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. His attorney raised a question about the validity of the verdict but Fitzpatrick later decided to enter a plea in connection with penalty phase of the trial.
Jewell said it was the right move to make.
“In between the two phases (of the trial) and in order to bring the case to a close and most importantly to eliminate the possibility of appeals, we reached this agreement that resolved all of the issues in the case,” Jewell said.
Fitzpatrick will now have a chance for parole after 15 years of his life sentence. It’s the same sentence Arriaga faces. The Hatfield family agreed to Thursday’s plea as long as Fitzpatrick admitted what had taken place. He told the judge Thursday he was with Arriaga when Hatfield was shot in the back.
“Hopefully with the sentence a formality of the sentencing hearings in the upcoming weeks, this will give some degree of comfort and closure to the family,” Jewell said.
Jewell maintained during the trial it was Arriaga who pulled the trigger but Fitzpatrick was just as guilty.
“It’s the law and the law makes sense,” Jewell said. “You should not get to escape criminally responsibility and liability and punishment just because someone else’s behavior may have been a little worse than your’s was.”
Arriaga was convicted in October. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 19 while Fitzpatrick is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 18.