ASHLAND — On Friday, a grand jury indicted Stanley Gardner, 71, on a charge of aggravated murder for the death of his son, Jason Gardner, who was found shot to death in Stanley’s home in early September.
In Ohio, an aggravated murder charge is for cases where the perpetrator allegedly planned the murder by “prior calculation and design,” according to the Ohio Revised Code.
Gardner’s original murder charge in September did not include any mention of planning or premeditation.
But over the past few months, investigators revealed evidence that fit an aggravated murder charge, Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell said.
“The allegation against Mr. Gardner is that he planned to kill his son Jason, with whom he resided in a residence near Brookside West Park, just outside the city limits of Ashland, and that he carried out that plan by use of a firearm,” Tunnell said in a press release.
The new indictment also includes two specifications to the aggravated murder charge involving the weapon Gardner allegedly used to kill his son, a Taurus Spectrum handgun.
The first specification is an enhancement to the aggravated murder charge that would add three years to Gardner’s sentence for using a firearm in a felony, Tunnell said.
The second specification is so the weapon can be forfeited to the state, he added.
“A lot of times, by virtue of the conviction, they’re gonna be disqualified from having a firearm. So we just forfeit it to the state so that they don’t get the firearm back. Otherwise it sits on an evidence shelf because they can’t come get it,” Tunnell said.
Gardner was also recently assigned a new lawyer, Attorney Donald Wick of Mount Gilead, after his previous lawyer, Attorney Matthew Malone of Ashland, withdrew from the case to take on a new role as assistant law director for the city of Ashland.
If convicted, Gardner could face life in prison without parole or a parole option after 20, 25, or 30 years in prison, depending on how the court decides to sentence him. His next court hearing is Monday, Nov. 28.
