Joseph Ables is a killer from Florida who was sentenced to death for the murder of Deputy Sheriff William Gentry Jr
According to court documents Joseph Ables had shot and killed his neighbor’s cat with a pellet gun. The neighbor would call 911 and Highlands County Deputy Sheriff William Gentry Jr would arrive at the scene to investigate
Upon arrival the officer would speak to the neighbor then would walk across the backyard to Joseph Ables residence. Several gunshots were heard soon after. When other officers arrived at the scene they would find the body of the Deputy Sherriff who had been shot multiple times in the head on Ables front porch
Joseph Ables would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Joseph Ables Now
DC Number: 492679
Name: ABLES, JOSEPH E
Race: WHITE
Sex: MALE
Birth Date: 01/13/1949
Initial Receipt Date: 04/28/2025
Current Facility: UNION C.I.
Current Custody: MAXIMUM
Current Release Date: DEATH SENTENCE
Joseph Ables Case
Circuit Court Judge Angela Cowden on Friday sentenced Joseph Ables to death for the May 6, 2018, murder of Highlands County Deputy Sheriff William Gentry Jr.
The sentence came nearly seven years after the crime.
A unanimous jury recommended that Ables be sentenced to death after an October trial that included a penalty phase. They did so after agreeing with Assistant State Attorney Bonde Johnson’s argument that Ables had had been previously been convicted of a felony or was on felony probation; that he had been convicted of another felony involving the use or threat of violence; that he killed Gentry to avoid arrest; that Ables had killed Gentry to hinder the lawful enforcement of laws; that the murder was committed in a cold, calculated and pre-meditated manner without any pretense or moral justification; and that Gentry was engaged in the performance of his duties when Ables gunned him down.
All are aggravating factors for the death penalty in Florida.
Cowden accepted the jury’s recommendation Friday and committed Ables to Death Row.
William Gentry’s mother, Susan Gentry, and his brother, Highlands County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Gentry, attended the trial and nearly every pre-trial hearing over the years. The slain deputy’s fellow officers often sat with the family to show their solidarity.
“It’s a shame it took six-and-a-half years to get to this point,” Kevin Gentry said when the jury convicted Ables in October. “It’s a lot of pressure, a lot of relief off of me and my family.”
He called his brother a kind and dedicated law enforcement professional.
“He started in law enforcement because he cared for people,” he said. “He’s always, always doing something nice for people.”
According to Friday’s Sheriff’s Office Facebook posting, handcuffs that had been assigned to the deceased deputy were around Ables’ wrists during his sentencing Friday afternoon.
“It has been nearly seven years since the awful day Deputy Gentry was taken from us,” the post stated. “Nothing will ever make the pain go away, but the fact that justice has been served, and his killer now faces the maximum punishment, is an important step on the way to ultimate justice for Deputy Gentry and his family.”
William Gentry had been responding to a complaint from a Placid Lakes resident that someone had shot and killed her cat with a pellet rifle. Detectives would later recover the pellet and determine it had been fired from a pellet rifle in Ables’ bedroom.
Gentry arrived at Baltimore Way to investigate the complaint in his sheriff’s prowler, which was clearly marked as a law enforcement vehicle, Johnson argued. Gentry also wore his sheriff’s uniform which would have been difficult to miss, the prosecutor said. After interviewing the cat’s owner, whose home was behind Ables’ residence, the deputy walked across the backyard to the front of Ables’ home. Shortly after Gentry disappeared around the corner of Ables house, witnesses standing in the neighbor’s yard heard several gunshots. His fellow officers would find Gentry’s body lying on the floor of the screened-in front porch.
Detectives believe Ables shot Gentry several times in the head as he stood in front of the deputy on his front porch.
Ables’ lawyer, Bjorn Brunvand, argued during a 2022 Stand Your Ground hearing that Ables did not recognize Gentry as a sheriff’s deputy when he shot him; rather, Ables – a former Marine officer who saw combat in Vietnam – believed Gentry was an enemy soldier intent on harming him, a foundational aspect of Stand Your Ground. A judge, however, rejected that argument and denied a defense motion to dismiss the murder charges.
Gentry was also an accomplished maker of custom pool cues with an online following. When news of his shooting was reported, one friend wrote, “William Gentry very recently made me a couple of shafts and it was a real pleasure working with him.” The man calling himself Brian KC said, “Aside from him doing very precise, high quality work, he has a great sense of humor.”
Tenth Circuit State Attorney Brian Haas on Friday asked the community to remember Gentry’s life rather than his murder.
“The day that Deputy Gentry was murdered will always be remembered as a terrible day in the history of Highlands County,” Haas said. “Today and every day, we should focus not on the horrible murder, but on the amazing life that William Gentry lived.”
Gentry was an outstanding officer, he said.
“His dedication to serving our community and his love for his family and friends will never be forgotten,” Haas said. “I’m hopeful that the death sentence will provide some level of closure to his friends and family, who I know will never be the same without Deputy Gentry.”
