Tuesday, July 20, 1999
Victimized family forgives man who shot at them
Former principal pleads no contest
BY ERIN GIBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Minutes after a former school superintendent pleaded no contest Monday to four felony assault charges of firing a gun into a family's minivan, his victims delivered their own message:
We love and forgive you.
“I don't have hate for you,” said Erin Devlin, who turned 14 Monday, to Ebbie Gadd. Mr. Gadd was a former Lakota High School principal and a former superintendent at New Miami Schools.
“I love you because God loved me.”
Erin was one of four family mem bers in the minivan. Her parents, Pamela and Daniel Devlin, also addressed Mr. Gadd during his trial Monday morning in a Hamilton County courtroom. He was charged with crimes committed on the evening of Feb. 3, when he fired a handgun into the Devlins' minivan while in a drunken rage. No one was seriously injured.
After the trial, Erin again approached Mr. Gadd, 58, grabbed his hands and said, “I love you.”
Mr. Gadd replied, “I love you,” and the pair hugged and cried together.
Mr. Gadd, a clean-cut, sharply dressed man who looked more like a lawyer than a defendant Monday, faces seven to 37 years in prison for his admitted crimes. His attorneys said he has no memory of the shooting.
Mrs. Devlin was driving the mini van home from Bible study the night Mr. Gadd pulled up in his Pontiac Bonneville, pointed his handgun at the van and fired. Mrs. Devlin's husband, daughter and 8-year-old son, Daniel, were inside.
The gunshot shattered a passenger window, and flying glass lodged in Mrs. Devlin's face. No one else was hurt.
Mr. Gadd continued driving from that incident in Springfield Township to Independence, Ky., where he was arrested for drunken driving two hours later. He had driven his car off the road and crashed it into a mailbox.
He pleaded guilty to drunken driving in February. His license was suspended for 90 days, he was fined $200 and he was ordered to undergo alcohol treatment.
Mrs. Devlin said that she forgave Mr. Gadd's crimes against her family, but she believed he must pay for them.
Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas C. Nurre told Mr. Gadd he would serve two to eight years for each felony count, plus a mandatory sentence of five years for firing a gun from a vehicle in Ohio.
The four felony sentences could be served concurrently, but law requires the five-year sentence to be consecutive, Judge Nurre said.
Mr. Gadd, who will be officially sentenced Aug. 19, is not eligible for parole. He will remain free on $100,000 bond until that date.
Prosecutor Heather Russell told Mr. Gadd's stepmother, Gertrude Shipley of Hamilton, that she expects his sentence will be closer to seven years than 37.
His no contest plea shows his remorse, she said.
“He's a real good kid,” Mrs. Shipley told Ms. Russell. “He worked his way through school, and he worked hard to get where he's at, and I'm proud of him.”
Mr. Gadd's drunken shooting incident was a shock to those who knew him, Mrs. Shipley said. He had spent his life working with children as a school administrator.
He worked in the Lakota Schools for 14 years, including two years as principal of Lakota High School (1982-84). He was superintendent at New Miami Schools from 1984 to 1991, before he became assistant superintendent in the Kings Local Schools. He retired from Kings in 1996.
Ms. Russell said in March that Mr. Gadd had a prior arrest for domestic violence involving his girlfriend in 1996. He had been drinking in that case, too, she said, and suffered from an uncontrolled drinking problem.
Mr. Devlin asked the judge Monday to be merciful but just when sentencing Mr. Gadd, whose bullet narrowly missed Mr. Devlin's head when it entered the minivan's passenger window.
“The gentleman in front of you, judge, faced me with the possibility of losing one or more members of my family,” Mr. Devlin said. “I am very thankful nobody was harmed, and I believe God was in control. But we're going to have to live with this for the rest of our lives.
“I just hope that the courts will do the right thing.”
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Victimized family forgives man who shot at them
