Resentencing: Court Orders Payment of Over $2,000 in Fees; Defense Attorney Appeals New Sentence
A former Centralia man convicted of murdering a 25-year-old man in 2007 had his 50-year jail sentence reduced by about five years.
The defendant, Gordon Hammock, is currently more than 13 years into his jail sentence and is now scheduled to be released in mid-2053.
A Lewis County Superior Court judge formally resentenced Hammock on Oct. 13 due to the dismissal of a possession of a controlled substance conviction from Hammock’s record following the State v. Blake Washington Supreme Court decision in February, which found the state’s drug possession law to be unconstitutional.
Because judges in the state of Washington use a sentencing grid system that gives offenders a score based on the seriousness of prior convictions on the offender’s record, with a higher score carrying a more severe sentence, the judge found Hammock would have received a reduced sentence at his original sentencing hearing in 2008 had the now-vacated drug possession charge not been on his record.
While Judge J. Andrew Toynbee reduced Hammock’s jail sentence by four years and seven months, he reimposed $1,851 in attorney fees on top of a $500 victim’s assessment fee and $6,323.11 owed in restitution to the victim’s family.
A judge had previously found Hammock unable to pay the court fees; but in resentencing the case, Toynbee found that Hammock would be financially able to pay the fees.
Hammock’s attorney has submitted the new sentence to the state Court of Appeals for formal review.
Hammock was convicted in the death of William Ford at a Centralia residence in 2007. His trial, which lasted three weeks, concluded in February 2008 and he was convicted on one count each of first-degree murder, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful use of drug paraphernalia and attempted intimidation of a witness. He was sentenced a month later to 49 years and eight months in jail.
On Jan. 24, 2007, Ford was shot in the head with a homemade gun, beaten with a ball-peen hammer and strangled inside the Russell Road home where Hammock lived with his mother.
Ford, 25 at the time, was missing until about eight days later when a tip led police to his body behind a Winlock-area home.
Hammock and his girlfriend, Melissa McKee, were each initially charged with second-degree murder. McKee testified against Hammock and received a reduced sentence. Her 12-year jail sentence ended last year.
McKee allegedly shot Ford with the improvised gun on the command of Hammock, who allegedly then beat Ford with a ball-peen hammer, strangled him with an extension cord and stuffed his body into a trash bag he later dumped near Winlock.
Both Hammock and McKee were ordered to pay restitution to Ford’s family.
