Second man sentenced in brutal beating of WWII vet
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — The second of two men convicted in the robbery and beating of a World War II veteran was sentenced Friday.
Justin Lawson received a 30 year sentence for his role in the robbery and attack of Bud Moore.
Lawson will serve 20 years in the Indiana Department of Correction, three years of work release, and two years of probation. The remaining five years will be suspended.
Lawson must also pay $4,500 in restitution, as well as court costs.
Joseph Lowe, the other man in the case, received an identical sentence in May.
Even though both men will spend decades behind bars, Moore’s daughter Sandra Tolley said it can’t heal the wounds, both mental and physical, they caused.
“They look scary in their eyes. Their eyes look empty,” Tolley said as she looked at pictures of Lawson and Lowe.
The sight of them brought back memories of why these mugshots were taken in the first place.
“I’ll never get over it,” she said. “I don’t think my father will at his age because I don’t think he’ll live long enough to get over it.”
Moore was asleep in his house along Main Street in Arcadia last October. That’s when Lawson and Lowe broke in, tied up Moore, then beat and robbed him; two guys in their 20s targeting a World War II veteran in his 90s.
“To me it was all pre-planned,” Tolley felt.
She said both men tried to make amends for what they did. She said Lowe seemed sincere when he apologized during his sentencing, but not Lawson. She said he appeared emotionless and lacked remorse.
In court today, she said Lawson turned to her father and asked if he could accept his apology.
She said his response was, ’You’re a son of a b—-, no I don’t accept your apology.”
The reaction shocked Tolley.
“My dad doesn’t cuss. I mean, he’s just not short-tempered like this but this has just made him so mad,” she said.
But with anger also comes fear and mental pain. She said the events of the attack brought back memories of when her father served in the war.
“He had a dream of when he was a POW and my dad’s never done that and he said where that come from I don’t know and it has to come back to (the attack),” she said. “He’s afraid they’re going to let these two guys out in five years and they’ll be back to get him.”
But as long as Tolley is around, she said daddy’s little girl won’t let that happen.
“(If) they try to go in front of any parole board and get out early, I’m going to be there to fight it. My father may not be alive to see it but they’re not going to get out until they serve their time,” she said.