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We now know how much time Joseph Frank Cunningham will spend behind bars. The 45-year-old Buckingham resident was sentenced Monday after being found guilty of second-degree murder in a January 2023 shooting death. 

Back in May, a jury found him guilty of both second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He had faced three additional charges, including aggravated murder during abduction and two counts of abduction, but Amherst County Judge Jeffrey Bennett dismissed each of those. At that time, the jury recommended a 16-year sentence. They could have suggested as little as eight years or as many as 43 on both charges, based on sentencing guidelines. 

And that’s where Bennett came in on Monday. He had the option of lowering the sentence, if he chose. He wasn’t allowed, however, to hand down a higher sentence than the recommendation. Instead of making any change, Bennett agreed with the jury and sentenced Joseph to 16 years in prison. That breaks down to 13 years on the second-degree murder charge and three years on the firearm charge. 

Bennett did however make one adjustment. He allowed Joseph to get credit for time already served, as he’s spent more than a year in jail since the original incident. 

Before making that decision, the judge heard from both sides in the case. Testifying for the prosecution, the niece of shooting victim Kevin Hartless said her family had suffered. 

“My family, no family, should have to go through this,” Hannah Hartless said. She had asked the judge to consider the family when handing down the final sentence. 

Joseph’s lawyer, Ronnie West, argued that his client had acted appropriately in a bad situation. A gun had been pointed in his direction and fired, West said. He argued Joseph was within the law and within his rights to shoot back. 

“Did he want it to happen? No,” West said. 

Detailing murder case background 

Joseph had wanted to prove his wife Jennifer was having an affair with Hartless, getting evidence to help in his divorce and the custody battle for their younger child that would follow. The affair is not in question. Both sides acknowledge the relationship between Hartless and Joseph’s wife.
On Jan. 19, 2023, Joseph was riding, along with his 19-year-old daughter Summer and her boyfriend, David Chester Christian in Christian’s vehicle when they spotted Jennifer and Kevin Hartless at a store in Nelson County. They started following the pair, trailing them all the way to the George Washington National Forest. At that point, the prosecution argued that Christian blocked Hartless in with his vehicle, with a plan to take a picture of Jennifer and Kevin together. An argument and then a fight broke out between Kevin and Joseph. 

Joseph and his legal team argue it was at that point Kevin Hartless grabbed his gun and fired it toward Joseph. Joseph, in turn, grabbed Christian’s gun from the truck and shot back, killing Kevin. Summer Cunningham and Christian were later arrested and charged in connection with the crime. 

Neither of those two cases lasted long, however. Christian had all charges dismissed during a February hearing, while Summer encountered a similar decision in August.