PROVIDENCE — The state Supreme Court has refused to grant post-conviction relief to a former golf pro who was found guilty on a variety of charges stemming from the armed abduction and kidnapping of three teenagers 30 years ago.

The nine-page ruling, handed up on Thursday, ends a long-running legal battle that has crawled through the court system since Michael A. Ballard was convicted on the multiple felony counts on Dec. 3, 1979. Ballard, 66, formerly of Bristol, was paroled on home confinement from the Adult Correctional Institutions two years ago.

In his 1979 trial in Superior Court, Ballard was portrayed as the mastermind of a three-man team that was charged with kidnapping teenagers Frank and Tammy Galleshaw, and their friend, Kenneth Fullam. They were abducted at gunpoint from the garage of the Galleshaw’s home in Burrillville.

The Galleshaw family owned and operated Wright’s Farm, a well-known all-you-can-eat chicken restaurant in Burrillville.

The captors released Fullam a short distance from his home, while the Galleshaws were held hostage in a Jamestown bunker for about 10 hours before they convinced one of their kidnappers to release them.

The kidnappers, who also included Salvatore L. Savastano Jr. and Alan R. Gomel, had demanded $500,000 from the Galleshaws for the safe return of their children.

Gomel and Savastano were released from prison more than 10 years ago.

In 1988, Ballard filed his application for post-conviction relief and the original trial judge told him to “take whatever time you need,” in finding an attorney.

Apparently, Ballard took the judge’s advice to heart. It took him 12 years to file a second application for post-conviction relief. The application was ultimately denied in 2005 and Ballard appealed to the high court.

In his Supreme Court appeal, Ballard raised four issues. He argued that the state did not have jurisdiction to prosecute him because he was not properly removed from federal to state custody. He also claimed that he never had the opportunity to cross-examine a witness who provided a statement that was read into the court record.

The final two issues that Ballard raised were that the trial judge improperly instructed the jury on reasonable doubt, and that his sentence — that was reduced from two life sentences plus 65 years in 1997 — remained “manifestly excessive” and “unconstitutional.”

In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that Ballard’s sentence was “grossly disparate,” with others convicted of like crimes in Rhode Island. The high court decided that his two life sentences for kidnapping with intent to extort can run concurrently instead of consecutively.

bmalinow@projo.com