A jury Monday night convicted him of murder and seven other felonies involving the May 10 pursuit from Franklin to Turtlecreek Twp. that resulted in Dulle being struck and killed as he attempted to stop a stolen car Isreal was driving.
Deputies escorted Isreal into Judge James Flannery’s courtroom, wearing an orange jail uniform. His hands and legs were shackled.
“You’ve been in constant trouble since you’ve been a teen and you’re not going to change...,” Flanery said. “You’re not even a good criminal. You steal when it’s almost certain you’ll be caught.
“This tragedy can’t be adequately punished and there is nothing this court can do to bring back Sgt. Dulle,” Flannery said to Isreal and the courtroom.
“Mrs. Dulle wonders why God took her husband and not you ... Maybe he left you alive to show other people that this behavior should not and will not be tolerated.”
Flannery said, “I didn’t know this was the ‘Wild West’ and convicted felons needed a gun to go to Dayton.”
He told Isreal he was lucky to survive the crash. You’re “lucky you weren’t executed,” he said, noting that could have happened 50 to 60 years ago if a black man had killed a white officer.
Flannery said Isreal’s color had nothing to do with the outcome of the case and it would have been same if the defendant was white.
Flannery sentenced Isreal to a mandatory 15 years to life for the murder charge and one year for the gun specification charge.
Isreal was also given:
• 18 months for receiving stolen property,
• 36 months for failure to comply,
• A lifetime license suspension even though Isreal has never had a driver’s license,
• 36 months for having a weapon as a felon. (Some of these charges were merged for the purpose of sentencing),
• And consecutive one-year terms for gun specifications on the other charges.
“It was a senseless tragedy that could have been avoided if the defendant would have pulled over,” Sheriff Larry Sims told the court.
Abbie Dulle said May 10 changed the life of her and her family as she lost her best friend and the father of their children. “I won’t have my best friend to grow old with,” she said.
Noting that Monday would have been their 13th wedding anniversary, she said “justice was served but that it will never fill the void you made when you killed Brian.”
County Prosecutor David Fornshell said Isreal’s actions were senseless and could have been avoided had better and greater sentences been imposed in the past.
Defense attorney Clyde Bennett II, who spoke for Isreal, said he believed his client is suffering, is remorseful and has accepted responsibility for his actions.
Isreal, when given the chance to address the court, apologized in a voice that was barely audible.
After the sentencing, Bennett said he wasn’t surprised about the maximum terms imposed. He “commended” Flannery for being fair to both sides.
“I was disappointed with the jury because it was crystal clear to me that the jury was unduly influenced by emotion and sympathy for Dulle,” Bennett said.
Sims, when asked about Flannery’s remark that Isreal was lucky he wasn’t executed for killing a white officer, said police in Warren County “are truly professional... officers will do what’s appropriate.”
Ed Dulle, Sgt. Dulle’s father said, “the judge did all he could do and gave him the max. I thought he was right on.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4504 or Ed.Richter@coxinc.com.
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