Man sentenced for plot to kill wife

SANDUSKY — An Erie County man who plotted to kill his wife while incarcerated at a Marion County prison was sentenced on Wednesday to 11 years in prison. Gerry "Gary" Moore, 70, of Margaretta Township, was previously put on trial in Erie County on those charges and convicted, but a successful appeal from Moore led to a retrial of the case in Marion County on the same allegations. Moore pleaded guilty in 2015 following an incident in which he allegedly shot at his wife, Diane Moore, and led law enforcement on a chase in a Mustang before he shot himself following a 21-hour standoff. After that, during his time spent in a Marion state prison, he was accused of conspiring with another prison inmate to kill his wife, which spurred another criminal court case in Erie County. That case — which led to a multi-day trial in the county's common pleas court — culminated with a jury's guilty verdict on charges of attempted aggravated murder, retaliation and conspiracy and netted him a 22-year prison sentence. But that case was ultimately thrown out after Moore successfully appealed to Ohio's 6th District Appeals Court, arguing that the case against him should not have been heard in Erie County but in Marion County, the location of the prison. In 2022, he was indicted in Marion County on charges of conspiracy, attempted aggravated murder and attempted kidnapping, according to Marion County court records. On Oct. 11, ahead of a scheduled trial, Moore pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, a first-degree felony. Moore had a scheduled sentencing hearing on Wednesday. According to Erie County prosecutor Kevin Baxter, who was the lead prosecutor on the case, said Moore was sentenced to 11 years in prison. It wasn't immediately clear when his sentence would begin or at what prison he'd serve his sentence. Prosecutor reacts Baxter, who prosecuted both the original Erie County case and again in the re-presented Marion County case, said the more than six-year-long court proceedings could have a lasting impact on state criminal law. He said Wednesday's sentence amounted to "finally holding Moore accountable and hopefully providing the victim some peace of mind." "I am very appreciative of the dedicated persistence of assistant prosecutors and in the Erie County prosecuting attorney's office and the support of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association as well as the Ohio Attorney General's Office," Baxter said. Double jeopardy means that a criminal suspect cannot be tried twice for the same alleged crime. "However, the lingering question was whether or not this applied where the county in which the trial occurred was not the proper venue," he said. That question came up after Moore was reindicted in Marion, Baxter said. Moore's attorney, Thomas Gjostein motioned to dismiss the case on grounds of double jeopardy — but the judge, Matthew P. Frericks, ruled that double jeopardy did not apply. Gjostein appealed the judge's ruling to an appeals court, which unanimously ruled that the case could not be dismissed for double jeopardy, allowing the prosecution of Moore in Marion County to continue. "While this case was frustrating for all, including the victim, from a legal perspective, it was very interesting as it clarified Ohio law in the areas of venue and double jeopardy," Baxter said.