Garlington Sentenced To 33 Years | News | Fox 61 WTIC-TV Connecticut

From the Hartford Courant

Garlington Sentenced To 33 Years

By JOSH KOVNER, The Hartford Courant

May 2, 2008, 1:27 PM EDT

MIDDLETOWN — To his supporters, his wife, and his stepchildren, Ernest C. Garlington is a rock of a man: compassionate, driven, godly.

But to his victim, Derek Hopson, and Hopson's wife, Flora Allen-Hopson, he is a violent demagogue. And to the judge who sentenced him Friday to 33 years in prison for ordering an attack and then a murder attempt against Hopson, stepfather of basketball star Ray Allen, Garlington is a remorseless man who delegates others to do his dirty work, and who believes he is above the law.

"This was a crime with motive, anger and revenge,'' said Judge Patrick J. Clifford, describing the evidence presented at trial as "overwhelming.''

"This was a desperate, violent way in which you handled problems ... I think it was a situation where you thought you were going to get away with it,'' Clifford said to Garlington, a minister, counselor, gifted athlete and motivational speaker.

Hopson is married to Allen's mother and is the ex-husband of Garlington's wife, Darlene Powell-Garlington. At the time of the attempted shooting, Hopson and Powell-Garlington were going through a contentious divorce, and the anger between the two families poured out into the courtroom Friday as members of both families spoke.

Hopson addressed Garlington. Staring him in the face, Hopson said, "Thank God for this opportunity. Because I was supposed to be dead, your honor, nine days before my wedding .. (Garlington) has demonstrated, clearly, that he is a person who can live a double life. In this case, his evil heart has won out .. He's a very dangerous man; calculating, cunning, with no remorse.''

The judge referred to a police surveillance tape of Garlington talking, in the wake of the Hopson attacks, to a felon named Terrence Battle about burning down the house of a lawyer that Garlington didn't like and shooting his stepdaughter's high school principal. Clifford said: "You call this 'idle chatter' and that you said something stupid. I know something about idle chatter, and I haven't said to a thug, after getting out of the car and giving him a hug, that I need you to blow up someone's house and then talk about putting gasoline in a bottle.

"It shows the defendant delegates, that he's in a position to pay someone, and that he has marginal people with criminal records do his dirty work,'' said Clifford, who kept the video out of the trial because he deemed it to prejudicial to Garlington's defense. Judges can consider such evidence at sentencing. Garlington's lawyer, Jeffrey A. Denner, said he will appeal.

Clifford refused Denner's request to maintain the $1.25 million bond for Garlington.

"God bless you. Jesus be with you all,'' Garlington said as he was led away by marshals.