A Nogales, Ariz., man convicted of shooting a retired UA professor to death four years ago was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison Friday, plus an additional 88 years.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Nichols gave Marco Chavez, 35, the maximum sentence on each of the five charges on which he was convicted and ran them consecutively.
The judge cited Mac Hadley's age, Chavez's criminal history and the emotional impact of the crime on Hadley's family as reasons for the aggravated sentences.
In addition to first-degree murder, Chavez was convicted of arson, first-degree burglary, theft of means of transportation and theft.
Chavez kicked in Hadley's front door in November 2006 with the intention of burglarizing his west-side home. Hadley, 76, came home, confronted Chavez and was fatally shot in the face.
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Hadley's wife, Gertrude Hadley, arrived home to find her house on fire but initially thought her husband wasn't home because his car wasn't there.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Chavez set the Hadleys' bed on fire before loading up one of their vehicles with their valuables and fleeing to Nogales, Ariz.
After convicting Chavez of first-degree murder, the jurors decided Mac Hadley's age, the nature of the crime, the motive and Chavez's criminal history required them to consider the death penalty, but the 12 jurors couldn't agree if it should be imposed.
Instead of impaneling a second jury, prosecutors took the death penalty off the table, leaving Nichols to decide if Chavez should receive a life sentence with or without the possibility of release after 25 years.
Defense attorney Richard Bock told Nichols on Friday that even if Chavez was given the 25-to-life sentence, he'd likely die in prison anyway because he has a life-threatening liver ailment. The attorney also cited the support of Chavez's family as a mitigating factor.
The professor's daughter, Martha Hadley, read a letter from her mother to the judge in which she described Mac Hadley's life.
Mac Hadley picked prunes as a 6-year-old during the Great Depression, was an Eagle Scout and served as a medic in the Korean War. He was a high school teacher for many years, wrote 200 scientific publications and a textbook called Endocrinology that is still in use.
Although retired from the UA, Mac Hadley was still an active scientist at the time of his death.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Kellie Johnson reminded Nichols what Gertrude Hadley said in a videotaped statement that was played during Chavez's trial.
"I lost my husband, my home, my health and my happiness," said Gertrude Hadley, 86.
The case demanded "nothing less than a natural-life sentence," Johnson said.
On StarNet: Follow the news and events at Pima County's courthouses in Kim Smith's blog, At the Courthouse, at go.azstarnet.com/courthouse
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
