Domestic abuser sentenced in Bedford County

BEDFORD COUNTY (WSLS 10) - A domestic abuser will sit in prison for 11 years possibly replaying the events of one day in August 2015 in his mind.

A judge gave Willard Hale right below the sentencing guidelines for malicious wounding.

Hale stabbed his girlfriend multiple times and dragged her into the woods.

A deputy's body camera captured the frantic search to rescue the pregnant woman.

After the defense watched the video Hale ended up waiving his preliminary hearing and pleading guilty. When he faced a judge here last month, the video guaranteed Hale couldn't sweet talk his way out of prison time.

The 2015 video shows Sergeant Jeremy Gardner combing through dense woods for ten minutes before he found Hale and Hale's then-girlfriend Ashley Brogan.

Hale had stabbed Brogan repeatedly and dragged her into the woods, all while he was out on bond for attacking her months earlier.

Commonwealth's Attorney Wes Nance says like many abusers Hale had told his victim what to say when they got to court.

"He had forced her to water down the version of the first offense," said Nance. "Now with the second offense, with law enforcement catching him in the act, caught him with the victim shivering in fear and shock and covered in blood, told me that we were going to be able to hold him accountable and that's exactly what happened."

Nance says body camera videos create more work for officers and prosecutors when it comes to handing discovery over to defense attorneys, but that work is paying off in successful prosecutions.

It's all there in living color instead of in black and white in police reports, leaving room for interpretation and the defense to nitpick an officer on the stand.

Nance says the videos are really showcasing some fantastic police work. Tomorrow at six, WSLS 10 sits down with Gardner and he shares with us how exactly he got through those woods to save Brogan.