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EYEWITNESS LOCAL NEWS
GARY MULLINS TRIALfrom Eyewitness News Online Mullins Found Guilty Of Kidnapping; Elderly Victim Dies Before Verdict Reached Reported by:  Kallie CartVideographer: John Tincher Web Producer: Bethany Simmons Reported: Feb. 7, 2012 1:35 PM EST Updated: Feb. 7, 2012 6:20 PM EST
Charleston
, Kanawha County
, West Virginia
A man who police say has a history of preying on the elderly is now going to jail for a long time. Gary Mullins was found guilty of kidnapping on Tuesday but in a sad twist of fate, his elderly victim did not get to see justice served. Police say Gary Mullins kidnapped 84-year-old George Jacobs last year, forced Jacobs to drive him to his house and robbed Jacobs of thousands of dollars. Jacobs testified against Mullins on Monday and helped get the guilty kidnapping verdict but sadly Jacobs will never know. On Tuesday, Jacobs was found dead, authorities believe of natural causes. "It's a very sad day, I wish that he could have been here to see that justice was served for him," Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Erica Lord says. Mullins was found guilty of kidnapping but found not guilty of a robbery and obtaining by false pretenses charge. But prosecutors say had Jacobs not come forward, Mullins would still be targeting the elderly. "Since we started our investigation, we've been inundated with calls from victims throughout several counties, I would say there's well over 100 victims just within the past few years," Charleston Police Detective Jamie Noland says. And police say there have been even more victims spanning the past 20 years. Detective Noland calls Mullins a career criminal who worked the system, knowing what to do and what not to do to only be charged with misdemeanors. The kidnapping charge is Mullins' first felony conviction. Mullins still has two pending criminal trials, involving about a dozen elderly people. For the kidnapping charge, Mullins is facing 20 to 50 years in prison. The jurors in that case, were not told of Mr. Jacobs' death before their deliberations. MORE NEWS FROM EYEWITNESS NEWS
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