21-year old man sent to prison for 48 years

The judge heard dramatic statements in a murder case heard today in the Oconee Courtroom.  Judge Letitia Verdin’s eyes appeared red as she heard about the impact of an attack New Year’s Day 2014 on two people inside a home in Utica near Seneca.  Verdin sentenced James William Toward to 48 years in prison for murder and other crimes committed against the late Jody Corley and Robert Andrew Johnston.  Toward is 21 years old.  Thru his lawyer, he requested to be allowed a sentence that would have allowedhim to be eligible for release before his mother dies.  Jody Corley, injured in the incident, later committed suicide in Virginia, according to a relative.  Johnston was killed, and Deputy Solicitor David Wagner said Toward chased Johnston down the hall and shot him.  This was sentencing day for Toward who besides murder pleaded guilty to burglary, grand larceny, kidnapping and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.  Previously. Toward’s co-defendant, Donte Robert Bacon, pleaded guilty, but his sentencing has been delayed pending the resolution of the charges against Toward.  Speaking to Judge Verdin, members and friends of Corley and Johnston described the two as a loving couple.  But Johnston, according to one of his friends from Washington State, had expressed worry shortly before he was killed that the Utica Mill neighborhood was becoming dangerous.  Toward’s mother, Donna Bretz, said since his arrest, her son had become repentant and she expressed the hope that the family and friends of Corley and Johnston can forgive their son for what he did.  Toward apologized in court, but the judge said, “What you did was horrible.”  The defendant’s lawyer said his client has been found to have an anti-social disorder.  About Toward’s mental health, attorney Gordon Senerius said the U-S has cut back on mental health service, adding, “We have become quite a greedy society.”