A Henderson teenager was sentenced to 15 years for the shooting death of Clifford Hargis, an East End resident who died from injuries he sustained in a December 2024 shooting.
Cameron Gilbert, 17, will serve 15 years for murder, 8 years for first-degree wanton endangerment, four years for possession of a handgun by a minor and four years for first-degree criminal mischief. The sentences will run concurrently.
Gilbert was indicted March 4 on the four charges stemming from incidents that occurred on Dec. 14. Gilbert, who was 16 at the time of the incident, was prosecuted as an adult.
According to a release from Henderson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Herb McKee, Jr., Gilbert was offered a 15-year sentence after prosecutors had consulted with the Henderson Police Department detective who investigated the case and with the family members of Hargis, and after considering the weight of the evidence and the age and maturity of Gilbert.
The courtroom, packed with Hargis’ family members and friends and family supporting Gilbert—as well as teenagers, who from statements in court were with Gilbert the night of the shooting and were under a subpoena to attend Tuesday—ratcheted up in tension as two of Hargis’ family members read victim impact statements and at times spoke directly to Gilbert and to the subpoenaed teenagers in the audience.
Hargis’ brother, Gene Hargis, told Gilbert that he will set an alarm for 7 a.m. every Thursday and at that time, “I’m going to pray for you.”
Gene Hargis said he ministered to inmates for 25 years at various facilities and said though he has forgiven Gilbert, he doesn’t trust an apology in this moment. He said he hopes that Gilbert can find a mentor while he is serving his time who will help him take this experience and “learn from it at a much greater depth” and come out rehabilitated.
Gene Hargis said he has forgiven Gilbert but “there are people in our family that have yet to forgive you.”
He turned to the audience and addressed those who had been subpoenaed, saying he despises the culture we live in “that you feel like you have to have a gun.” He said those running in gangs and picking up arms are destroying the community.
“It really hurts to come back home and think that people have to live in fear,” he said.
Cliff Hargis’ niece, Christy Henderson, said that Hargis’ last words were, “I don’t want to die.” Those words occurred before he was transported to the hospital, where he immediately underwent five surgeries in his midsection, where he was shot. After the surgeries, he never woke, she said. He died three days after being shot.
She said her family believes in forgiveness and mercy but they “also believe there’s a consequence to sin.” Speaking to Gilbert, she said that he can correct his life and hopes that “you will have a heart to change.”
Henderson also directed comments to the subpoenaed teenagers, saying the path they are on “is not the plan for you.” And she added, that “we should not be afraid to walk in our neighborhood” and “fear that someone is carrying a gun and we could be shot.”
According to previous reporting in the Hendersonian, police say Hargis was shot on Dec. 14 and taken to the hospital, where officials initially thought he would recover. But on Dec. 17, he was pronounced dead at Deaconess Midtown in Evansville.
Henderson police said officers responded to a report of shots fired around Mill and O’Byrne at 11:16 p.m. on the night of the incident.
While officers drove to the location of the initial call, another call was placed from the 1220 block of Loeb in which it was reported that Hargis had suffered from a gunshot wound to the abdomen, police said.
Officers learned Hargis, 63, had been shot in front of 609 Mill St. while confronting a group of people near his truck, police said.
As the investigation of the shooting of Hargis was beginning that night, more calls were made that more shots had been fired in the 1200 block of Cumnock Street, which is nearby, police said.
Police said at the time of the incident that at least one home was struck from gunfire but there were no reported injuries from that. The indictment said that the wanton endangerment charge came from when Gilbert shot a gun into a home in the area.
Also at Tuesday’s hearing, Gilbert read a letter of apology to Hargis’ family, saying “no number of words or apologies” can bring him back.
Local attorney Dax Womack, representing Gilbert, asked that Henderson Circuit Judge Karen Wilson consider some United States Supreme Court cases that established different approaches in dealing with juveniles in the criminal justice system and that juveniles have greater capacity and potential for growth and change. Womack asked that Wilson consider probation.
In reading her sentence, Wilson said that probation is not appropriate because there would a risk of Gilbert committing another crime.
Finally, after Wilson handed down the sentence and the hearing was over, McKee also spoke to the subpoenaed teenagers and told them it’s time to “set down your arms. Stop the violence in this community. It’s time to stop” before he released them from the subpoena.
