News
Former Ohio Deputy Sentenced to Life in Colleague’s Slaying
By: Associated Press
Posted on:
MARIETTA, Ohio (AP) – A former sheriff’s deputy convicted of fatally shooting an ex-colleague more than three decades ago because the victim had fired him for inappropriate conduct has been sentenced to life in prison.
Authorities said 65-year-old Mitchell Ruble was sentenced Thursday by a Washington County judge in southeast Ohio. Ruble was found guilty of aggravated murder last month in the 1981 slaying of Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Lt. Ray “Joe” Clark.
Clark was in the kitchen of his home when he was shot in the head through a window. He had fired Ruble in 1979.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says it’s believed to be one of the oldest cold cases involving a law enforcement murder ever to be successfully prosecuted.
A message seeking comment from Ruble’s attorney wasn’t immediately returned Thursday.