AKRON, Ohio – Family members of an Ohio man who was shot and killed while running from an Akron home in August, 2015, were surprised when they found a Facebook photo of his killer attending a wedding instead of sitting in jail.
David Hillis entered a plea of guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter, admitting he fired the shot that killed 25-year-old Marcus Glover.
Glover's family said they already felt let down after Hillis was sentenced to spend only one year in jail.
"There's no support, no love. Everybody that I thought would be there they ain't really there," said Romir Cody, a brother of the victim.
In May of 2017, Hillis was granted a work release that allows him leave jail between 5:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. six days a week. The order requires him to go directly to his electrical company's job site and return directly to jail. It does not allow Hillis to attend a wedding.
The furlough to attend the wedding was granted by visiting judge Richard Reinbold, Jr. The decision was made between the judge and Hillis' attorney without prosecutors or Glover's family given the opportunity to object.
Glover's family members say they already feels as though Hillis, whose father is a former deputy sheriff, and whose mother works at the Summit County Common Pleas Court, has been granted favorable treatment.
"We have been through this for a year and a half. He's already taken that time from us. Don't let him keep taking from us, but every time you turn around he is; the system is letting him do it," said Crystal Thomas, Glover's mother.
Now they are upset at a justice system they believe is more sympathetic to Hillis than to the relatives of his victim, who will never be able to attend a wedding himself.
"He will never do that. He just missed his 27th birthday. Mother's Day is very hard for me," said Thomas. "He took a life and he's left a big hole in this family. He just doesn't know what he's done and it seems like it's a joke to them."
The Summit County Prosecutor's Office had no comment on the decision on Friday.
They have filed an objection to the furlough and to any further requests from Hillis without their office being notified.
WJW made several attempts to contact Judge Reinbold on Friday for an explanation about his decision, but those attempts were unsuccessful.
