After being sentenced to serve 62 years in prison, a man convicted of tying up and robbing a Franklin couple cried and asked for forgiveness.
Reese Keith, 29, had already been convicted after a bench trial of six felony charges, along with being a habitual offender, in the 2017 robbery of a Franklin couple, who were tied up, robbed and left there until they could break free and call police. Police said Keith left Johnson Memorial Hospital after being taken there for treatment following a crash, and then broke into the Dixon’s home about a block away.
This week, Keith learned his sentence, which he plans to appeal. He is maintaining his innocence in the case.
In the hearing, Johnson Superior 2 Judge Peter Nugent considered testimony from Ella Dixon, who was taped to her walker in the robbery, and Keith’s mother, to determine how long he should spend in prison.
In a letter, Dixon wrote about how the robbery had forever impacted her life. Her husband, Clayton Dixon, had to move out of their home when his dementia progressed quickly after the robbery and now lives in an assisted living facility, separating the couple of 71 years and quickly draining their savings.
“The actions of Reese Keith destroyed our golden years,” she wrote. “Our life was stolen from us.”
Keith’s mother, Christina Smith, asked the court to give her son another chance and not send him to prison for the rest of his life, and allow him to get treatment for his drug addiction.
“Everybody has lost, but he needs a chance,” Smith said.
Prosecutor Brad Cooper pointed to the seven times Keith had been sentenced to probation for previous convictions, and each time violated those conditions.
“Seven different courts have given him seven second chances,” Cooper said.
Cooper asked that Keith receive the maximum sentence in the case — 112 years in prison.
Nugent said he considered multiple factors in the 62-year sentence, including the impact on the Dixons and Keith’s family, including his two daughters, along with Keith’s criminal history, the age of the victims and the fact that after he was found and arrested, Keith did speak to the police.
“Nobody walks out of here a winner today,” Nugent said.
After the hearing ended, Keith told the court he had something to say, and couldn’t walk out of the courtroom without saying how sorry he was to Ella Dixon.
“The bravery, love and devotion you and your husband showed to each other changed my life in a way I don’t think anyone can understand. I didn’t think that existed before I met you,” he said.
“You and your family should be so proud of Clayton. Please forgive me.”
Family members had previously testified about the impact of the robbery on Clayton Dixon, who had been diagnosed with dementia at the time. But after the robbery, he became anxious and paranoid, accusing his son of robbing him, and was moved to an assisted living facility due to his declining condition.
Every time his wife visits, he begs her to let him come home, Ella Dixon wrote in her letter. His treatment costs about $7,000 a month.
“This has been a life sentence for him,” she wrote.
She noted that Keith had been in trouble for most of his adult life, and asked the court to punish him to the full extent of the law.
Keith’s attorney, Andrew Borland, told the court about Keith’s history of drug use, and that past sentences he had received included treatment for addiction, but not to the level Keith needed.
“It’s a cycle that can’t be broken easily,” he said.
His mother talked about Keith’s descent into drug use, and how she tried to help him battle his addiction for four years, contacting multiple rehabilitation facilities and a TV show that profiles people suffering from addiction and then helps them with treatment. Every time he got clean, he would relapse after getting in touch with people he knew while he was using, Smith said.
“It didn’t work. I tried,” she said.
But she has once again seen the son she knew before he began using during her visits with him while he has been in jail for the last 14 months, she said.
“The person I see sitting here is the son I raised. When this offense occurred, that was not the son I raised,” she said.
Both Borland and Smith said they believe Keith can redeem himself if given another chance, and asked for less than the maximum sentence.
Cooper pointed to Keith’s history in the last decade since his two daughters were born, including convictions for auto theft, battery, possession of a narcotic drug and possession of paraphernalia.
“Reese Keith doesn’t care about his kids. If he did, he would not be a menace to society, he would be with his kids,” Cooper said.
He also noted all the points in the law that would allow Keith to receive the maximum sentence, including the harm his victims had suffered, his criminal history, the age of his victims at 88 and 90 and his past probation violations. He also said that none of the factors that can be considered for a lower sentence applied.
“He deserves every single day,” Cooper said.
Keith now has 30 days to appeal, which he told the court he plans to do.
