A 40-year-old Kentucky man has been sentenced to natural life in prison without parole for the January shooting death of Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Riley.
Ray Tate pleaded guilty last month to one of the multiple first-degree murder charges pending against him last month.
The court was allowed to view footage from two body cameras, including that of Deputy Riley from the day of his murder when he had been called to I-64 for a motorist assist. Public Defender Heidi Hoffee objected to the showing of the videos and also claimed a term of natural life in prison violates the US Constitution and Illinois law.
Tate was given 30 days to appeal the sentence.
Tate also faces charges in suburban St. Louis, Missouri where he forced a truck driver to take him after the murder along I-64. He returned later in the day to Illinois after forcing a man to drive him to a rural Carlyle home where he held the driver and homeowner hostage until the situation ended with Tate’s arrest and the hostages being safely released.
