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Last updated on Tuesday, November 20, 2018
(BEDFORD) - Convicted murderer Evan Schaffer was sentenced to 63 1/2 years in prison in Lawrence County Superior Court I this morning.
Jurors found 23-year-old Evan Schaffer guilty of murdering 25-year-old Justin Lampkins at the Bedford McDonald's drive-through during the early morning hours of April 23, 2017. He was also found guilty of pointing a firearm, carrying a handgun without a license and battery resulting in bodily injury.
He was sentenced to 62 years on the murder conviction and 2 years on a Level 6 felony conviction of pointing a firearm. Those sentences will run concurrently. He was sentenced to 1 year for carrying a handgun without a license and 180 days on the battery conviction. Those sentences will be served consecutively.
Before handing down the sentence, Judge John Plummer III stated that the murder was an "absolutely senseless act."
"No one envisions going to McDonald's, hearing a horn honk and getting yourself shot and killed," he added. "The jury determined this was not an act of self-defense."
Judge Plummer believes that if Schaffer had not had a "blatant disregard for the law" Justin Lampkins would still be alive today.
Schaffer was arrested in March 2017 on a Level 4 felony arson charge in Monroe County. Schaffer is accused of setting his own apartment on fire at Knightridge Apartments in the 600 block of State Road 446. He was arrested and released after posting bond.
"Less then two months later Justin Lampkins was murdered," Judge Plummer added. "Earlier that night prior to the killing, the defendant (Schaffer) was consuming large amounts of whiskey and illegally carrying a firearm. Those were decisions he chose to make... I find he has a total disregard for the laws of this state.
"This is a tragedy. Justin should not and will not be forgotten," Judge Plummer added. "When Evan chose to go up to a U.S. Marine, Evan started the fight and he finished the fight."
Judge Plummer read all 26 letters written by Justin's loved ones including one from his sister and brother-in-law Alyssa and Erick Stahl before handing down his sentence. Justin's father also testified this morning.
He didn't write a letter.
"I get angry when I sit down and think about it," he testified. "This was senseless and shouldn't have happened. I want to see him get the maximum sentence of 65 years for murder.
When asked if he had more to say - "There is but I better not."
Schaffer's father Daniel Schaffer took the stand and read a letter from Evan's mother. She states her son "was a good human at his core."
She also claims that if Bedford Police officers had done their job a lot of this could have been avoided.
"They turned off their body cameras and beat and tased my son," she wrote. "Two drunk men... bad choices were made by both men."
Daniel Schaffer testified his son has always been "cool-headed, loving and soft-hearted individual."
He believes if the trial had been held in another county his son would have been set free.
"There was a different elephant in the courtroom that needs to be looked at. Mr. Lampkins has a hand in his death... He identified himself as a Marine and continued to attack my son with a weapon. It is our God-given right to self-defense. This was not murder but self-defense."
Evan Schaffer read a statement stating he plans to appeal the jury's decision.
"A new trial with an unbiased jury will set me free," he stated.
Lawrence County Chief Public Defender David Shircliff was appointed by Judge Plummer to handle the appeal.
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