Tommy J.

Sunday, July 22, 2001

Tommy J. Dalton of Ironton will spend 10 years in prison for shooting his wife after an argument in April.

Seven of those years were imposed by Lawrence County Common Pleas Court on a charge of attempt to commit murder, a first-degree felony. An additional three-year prison term is required under state law because Dalton used a gun to commit a crime. He was also fined $2,000; and he forfeited ownership of the weapon.

Dalton faced a total maximum prison sentence of 13 years.

Jurors found Dalton, 61, of 2016 S. Ninth St., guilty after a two-day trial Tuesday.

Dalton shot his wife, Shirley, in the back April 30 with a 12-gauge shotgun inside their home.

Ironton Police officers said the shooting was related to a domestic dispute between the couple. The shooting occurred at the Dalton home.

Mr. Dalton was arrested by IPD officers after the police interviewed Mrs. Dalton in the hospital.

Prosecutors in J.B. Collier Jr.’s office argued at Friday’s sentencing that the serious nature of the crime – he intended to kill his wife with a shotgun – and Dalton’s a past criminal history were reasons to seek a harsh penalty.

Although the sentence was three years short of the total maximum, the state was satisfied, said assistant prosecutor Mack Anderson, who argued the case.

"He had two prior gun and alcohol related offense," Anderson said.

In 1975, he was involved in a manslaughter case in Michigan, and in 1990 he faced a concealed weapons charge conviction in Lawrence County, Anderson said.