Thursday morning was the first time former Washington County Sgt. Mitchell Ruble appeared in open court wearing an orange jumpsuit, and with the same stoic expression on his face that he held throughout both of his trials, he was escorted out to likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

Ruble, 65, a lifelong resident of Lowell, was handed a mandatory life sentence for unscheduled felony murder in Washington County Common Pleas Court on Thursday morning for the 1981 killing of Ray “Joe” Clark.

“We forgive this man, and as a Christian, I know it’s hard, but I have to,” said Clark’s brother, Robert “Butch” Clark, brother of the late Ray “Joe” Clark. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

Ruble did not speak in front of Common Pleas Judge Randall Burnworth, but accepted the sentence surrounded by his own family and the family of Washington County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Clark.

Ruble was convicted of Clark’s murder in March after a mistrial of the case occurred in October.

It was just more than 35 years after the day on Feb. 7, 1981, when Clark was shot and killed through the window of his home on Dodd’s Run Road in Warren Township.

There will likely be an appeal attempted in the case, according to law enforcement and attorneys.

“It’s clear that the defendant maintains a position of absolutely no remorse, which has been consistent with his behavior since Feb. 7, 1981,” said Daniel Breyer, special prosecutor for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, which handled the case.

Defense attorney James Burdon said that his client will not show remorse for a crime he did not commit.

“He’s not expressing his remorse because he maintains his innocence,” Burdon said.

The life sentence is mandatory for an unscheduled felony murder charge, but Ruble will be eligible for parole after 15 years.

Breyer said it should be a true life sentence, citing alleged recent phone calls made from the jail between Ruble and family members.

“He’s been instructing his own daughter to siphon funds out of an account and hide that money to misrepresent what happened so he could get his transcript for free and not have to pay for it,” Breyer said.

A second phone call, Breyer claimed, was in regards to Bob Smithberger, a former deputy and friend of Ruble’s who served as the key witness in the prosecution’s case.

Smithberger told investigators that he had driven the “getaway car” that night and that Ruble had threatened him into silence. Smithberger had denied his or Ruble’s involvement for decades, eventually telling that narrative after he was offered police protection.

“He (Ruble) told his daughter, ‘Somebody’s going to have to get to him and convince him that he’s either going to be part of the problem or part of the solution,'” Breyer said about the phone call from jail.

Burdon said at this point, Ruble is only concerned about the well-being of his family.

“He wishes they would have never had to go through this,” he said.

The murder conviction was not the end of the legal troubles for Ruble.

After a search warrant was executed at his home shortly after his September 2014 arrest for murder, investigators found a number of weapons, and Ruble was additionally charged with seven different felony counts involving possession of dangerous ordnances and processing of explosives.

In a plea agreement, Ruble pleaded guilty to a single fifth-degree felony count of unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance Thursday.

“You’ll receive 11 months on this charge, to be served concurrently with the other case,” Burnworth said.

Bob Clark expressed his willingness to forgive Ruble and move on, accompanied by a poem about law enforcement that references prayers about coming home safe each day.

Additionally, Joe Clark’s step son-in-law, Ron Rees, spoke on behalf of his family prior to Ruble’s sentencing, and mentioned the toll it has taken on Clark’s family, especially his widow and children.

“My mother-in-law has been permanently scarred by this horrific crime,” Rees said. “My wife and I have done everything in our power to support her and made certain that she had access to the best counseling and support available. But people never fully recover from this kind of trauma.”

Rees said Clark’s wife, Patricia, became increasingly more discouraged over the past three decades.

“The stress of the past 35 years has weighed heavily on her and her health is severely compromised as a result,” he said. “Nothing within the power of this court can recompense the loss that they have sustained.”

Ruble will be transferred to the Correctional Reception Center in Orient before he is transferred to a state facility. If he happens to be released, he will be under five years of community control.

The six other ordnance-related charges against Ruble were officially dropped as part of the agreement.