Man sentenced for involvement in 36-year-old’s murder
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RIRIE — A plea deal allowed a 62-year-old man to be placed on a rider program for his involvement in the murder of 36-year-old Morey Pelton.
District Judge Bruce Pickett sentenced Gerald Hamlin of Puyallup, Washington, to three to 10 years in prison. As part of a plea agreement, Hamlin has agreed to testify against Randy Larkin, the man accused of killing Pelton.
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Pickett then retained jurisdiction, placing Hamlin on a “rider” program, where Hamlin will complete a treatment program in prison for one year. Once the program ends, Pickett can decide whether to send Hamlin to prison for his given sentence or release him on probation.
Hamlin was indicted and arrested on Feb. 8 on one count of principal to first-degree murder, one count of accessory to first-degree murder, and one count of destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence.
In July, he accepted a plea agreement, where he agreed to plead guilty to felony accessory willfully withholding knowledge of a felony from a peace officer and felony destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence.
In exchange, the prosecution agreed to drop the charge of felony aiding and abetting first-degree murder and argue for a retained jurisdiction at sentencing.
Pelton’s death
Pelton’s body was found on May 13, 2022, at the Lane Clark Rest Area on U.S. Highway 26 between Ririe and Swan Valley. He died of a single gunshot wound, according to Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal.
Another man, Randy Larkin, was indicted by a grand jury in 2022 and charged with one count of first-degree murder. He is in the Bonneville County Jail on $1 million bond and a jury trial is scheduled to begin in his case on Nov. 12.
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Prosecutors say Hamlin drove Larkin to and from the rest stop area where Pelton was killed. Hamlin then left Idaho for 18 months after the murder.
Sentencing
“… a grief so deep that I struggle to find words to describe.”
Hamlin’s sentencing began with three victim impact statements from Pelton’s mother, father and the mother of one of his children, expressing the pain and trauma they’ve gone through since learning about the 36-year-old’s murder.
Pelton’s father, Martin Pelton, told the court about Morey through bated breath and tears, describing life without his son as “almost the death of me.”
“My pride, my breath, my joy, my world. Morey was my everything,” said Martin. “Morey deserves justice. I visit Morey’s memorial almost daily. This is where he took his last breath. I ask myself, why did this happen? The pain I feel is unimaginable. Why didn’t Mr. Hamlin or anyone call 911?”
Martin also submitted numerous photos of himself with his son throughout the years for the judge to consider before deciding on a sentence for Hamlin.
Morey’s mother, Jennifer Kramer, struggled to read her statement out loud through her tears, eventually opting for a victim’s advocate to read it to the court on her behalf.
“The moment I received the news of my son’s tragic death, my world shattered into a million irreparable pieces,” wrote Kramer. “The knowledge that he was left alone to die, while his perpetrators callously drove away, fills me with a grief so deep that I struggle to find words to describe.”
Morey’s former partner, Jennifer Spaulding, also wrote a statement to the court that was ready by a victims advocate, explaining the impact Morey’s murder has had on their child.
“I will never forget the day that I found out Morey was murdered. My dad and I sat down and told (Morey and Jennifer Spaulding’s son) together that his dad was taken out of this world. And I watched as my 12-year-old boy cried in agonizing pain,” said Spaulding. “After hearing about the traumatic death of Morey, my family and I spent months before anyone was arrested in Morey’s case, worrying if we were going to be put in danger next.”
After listening to the victim impact statements, Hamlin’s defense attorney, John Thomas, argued that his client was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was unaware Larkin was allegedly going to kill Morey Pelton.
“Mr. Hamlin needs the court to understand and take into consideration, the fact that he withheld evidence, withheld knowledge of the fact that he was there when someone died. But he wasn’t an active participant in what happened,” said Thomas. “He’s not being convicted or judged for that. That is for another day for another man. Gerald Hamlin has no respect, no love, no care for Randy Larkin.”
According to Thomas, the evidence Hamlin destroyed were text messages between him and Larkin about bringing methamphetamine into Swan Valley, not about Morey Pelton’s murder.
“Gerald just wants the court to know that he is extremely remorseful for what had happened. It’s not a situation that someone normally gets into where they’re in the midst of something like this, and then they go on with their life and are approached by police,” said Thomas. “There were so many unknowns of, ‘Well, the police are approaching me. What should I say? I’m afraid for my life because Randy Larkin is still around.'”
Neal, the prosecutor, argued for an underlying sentence of five to 10 years in prison if Hamlin does not do well on his rider program.
Neal said that Hamlin has made “a lot of promises” to the court, and that his cooperation in convicting Larkin is the reason for the agreement to recommend a rider program.
“We do believe that with that kind of cooperation, with the 10 months of incarceration, the additional retained jurisdiction, and the truthful and full cooperation in the prosecution of Randy Larkin, that it would be appropriate for Mr. Hamlin’s plea agreement recommendations to be followed,” said Neal.
Neal reminded the court that this is still a serious case, and that Hamlin, should have called 911 and tried to save Morey after seeing him get shot.
“This is a case of the most severe nature. This is a first-degree murder, and it just can’t be lost on anyone that there should never have been a presumption that Morey Pelton couldn’t have been saved if Mr. Hamlin had done what is expected of every citizen,” said Neal. “It’s a legal obligation. It’s not something that would show good character, it’s not something that only good people do. It’s a requirement of the law.”
Hamlin declined to make a statement to the court.
Before pronouncing sentence, Pickett explained his ruling, noting that the Morey Pelton’s mother’s statement had an impact on him.
“There is a statement Ms. Kramer made that I thought was powerful: ‘This is a void that can never be filled.’ And that’s true,” said Pickett. “I’ve sat on this bench for 10 years (as) a judge, and I served 10 years as a prosecutor. There are crimes that happen where a void will never be filled.”
Pickett reminded Hamlin that citizens have moral expectations of each other in times of danger.
“I’m not aware, and I don’t believe that state is aware, of any direct evidence that would show that Mr. Hamlin had any foreknowledge of the murder,” said Pickett. “But he did afterwards, and he should’ve done something. … That’s why society expects people to act in situations like this.”