A Metro Detroit man, Jerry Motley, 39, has been sentenced to life imprisonment following a second conviction for the 2018 shooting death of his boss at Reliable Fence, a fencing company in Clinton Township. The sentence was handed down on Thursday, as reported by CBS News Detroit.
Motley's charges included first-degree premeditated murder in the killing of Thomas Badke, the owner of the company, and assault with intent to murder, felony firearm, and going armed with a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent in the shooting of another co-worker, Angelo Micale, who survived. Charged with shooting his co-worker twice before killing Badke, Motley was arrested a few hours after the incident. Having been arrested, he had reportedly confessed to the killing, according to the details provided by ClickOnDetroit.
Although initially convicted for these crimes in 2019, the conviction was overturned in 2023 due to ineffective counsel. But, after a retrial in June 2025, Motley was reconvicted. "Yesterday's life sentence delivers long-overdue justice," Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido was quoted as saying per CBS News Detroit. Motley's defense of legal insanity was rejected by the jury.
Reporting on the same story, The Detroit News stated that Thomas Edward Badke, 61, owned the business where the fatal incidents took place. Motley received a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole from Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Matthew P. Sabaugh. The shooting was believed to have originated from Motley's perception of being bullied by a co-worker. "Justice has finally been served," said Prosecutor Lucido, indicating that the outcomes of both trials highlight the gravity of Motley's actions and validate the strength of the evidence against him.
