by Jackie Nunnery
LANCASTER—Ernest O’Neil Kelley of Lancaster will serve a life sentence plus a mandatory minimum of eight years for the November 11, 2024, shooting and injury of Terrell Gilreath Jr. and the chaotic aftermath which put the entire community at risk, according to Judge Victoria Willis who presided over the sentencing in Lancaster County Circuit Court on Monday, August 17.
In May, Kelley pled guilty to malicious assault, use of a firearm in a felony and being a violent felon in possession of a weapon.
Ronyece Turpin said her family was enjoying putting up Christmas decorations when the shooting occurred outside her home she shares with her husband and three children. “For this to come to our house when we had nothing to do with this…My children still have problems,” she said.
Gilreath, who was previously shot by Kelley in 2015, provided a victim impact statement which included the fear of constantly looking over his shoulder should Kelley ever be released again. “I don’t want my friends and family to go through this,” he said.
Kelley faces an additional felony charge in Northumberland County Circuit Court for violating probation related to previous felony convictions in the 2015 shooting of Gilreath. Kelley pleaded guilty to malicious wounding, use of a firearm in a felony and being a nonviolent felon in possession of a firearm within 10 years and was sentenced to 30 years with 21 years suspended. He was released in August 2023.
Lancaster County Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony Spencer asked for the maximum sentence of “life plus eight” citing other aggravating factors particularly his “dangerous conduct” after the shooting. Upon learning that his victim did not die in the shooting, Kelley had told a relative over the phone that he was planning on going to the hospital to kill him. He led law enforcement on a high speed chase through the county and Town of Kilmarnock, fired eight rounds at an emergency vehicle and ultimately crashed into a light pole outside of Bon Secours Rappahannock General Hospital. He then confronted officers with a gun, leading to him being shot.
Spencer said the hospital had to shelter in place because of the potential threat and the crash led to a disruption of electrical service. “They had to run on emergency power, they suffered network malfunctions and some diagnostic scans were not able to be done.”
He also showed footage from the Lancaster jail on November 30, 2024, 19 days after Kelley was arrested. In it, Kelley can be seen wandering through parts of the jail throwing objects for approximately 10 minutes until backup officers assembled and subdued Kelley without incident. Lt. Jeffrey Haywood testified that the door to Kelley’s cell had not properly closed, allowing Kelley to leave his cell. He said the issue has since been resolved.
Defense attorney Anna Lindemann described Kelley as a man “doing well” but “struggling with mental health issues” until the fall of 2024 when he voluntarily stopped taking his medication in order to defend himself on an assault of a family member charge.
Prior to sentencing, Kelley told the court he was going through a mental health crisis. He said “it is not an excuse” but meant to explain his actions. He also apologized multiple times to his victims for the trauma, especially to the children, saying, “they shouldn’t be going through that. If I could change things I would, but I can’t.”
He told Judge Willis that any sentence she imposed he “earned” and that he would continue to work on his mental health whether it was in jail or out.
Willis said sentencing was “not just about the victims but of society at large. You voluntarily stopped taking your medications and there is no assurance it won’t happen again. I appreciate your struggles with mental health but I must balance between society and defendant. You put a family at risk and the community at risk and those far outweigh your personal struggles.”
Kelley received mandatory minimums of three years and five years for the firearm charges and a life sentence for the malicious assault.
Kelley was originally charged with three counts of attempted first degree murder; two counts of eluding police, endangering others; two additional counts of using a firearm in a felony, malicious shooting at an emergency vehicle, shooting at an occupied building, shooting in commission of a felony and shooting a firearm from a vehicle. Those charges were nolle prossed under the plea agreement.
