Man gets 7 1/2 years following conviction

Published 11:30 am Tuesday, March 31, 2026

PORT ANGELES — Aaron C. Fisher has been sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison with credit for time served following a conviction for first-degree manslaughter last month.

Fisher also will serve three years of community custody, Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden said Tuesday.

Fisher, 37, was convicted on Feb. 12 after a four-day jury trial in the May 2025 death of Richard Madeo, 70, in a Sequim Safeway parking lot.

Basden adopted the state’s mid-range recommendation — advanced by Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin — within the 78- to 102-month standard range.

Basden rejected defense attorney Lane Wolfley’s request for 78 months.

Devlin argued Fisher’s attack on Madeo was reckless and “clearly not an act of self-defense,” emphasizing the broad impact of the crime on his family, first responders and witnesses.

Wolfley argued for the low end of the standard range, saying Fisher “did not search out” Madeo and that the incident resulted from a “complicated interplay” of circumstances rather than a deliberate attempt to cause serious harm.

In statements read in court, Madeo’s wife Carol Madeo and daughter Amara Madeo described the devastating impact of his death, with Carol Madeo urging the court to impose the maximum sentence. Amara Madeo recounted being at her father’s bedside at Harborview Medical Center when he died and described the lasting emotional toll of his death.

“Walking into my dad’s hospital room and seeing him on life support was one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through,” she said in her statement. “My life will never be the same.”

Fisher addressed the court, saying he takes responsibility for his actions.

“I hope that they can some day forgive me for the incident that happened and move forward without the pain of this loss,” he said of Madeo’s family.

Basden denied Devlin’s request for a mistrial on the second-degree murder charge, which she argued was unresolved because the jury left the verdict form blank after finding Fisher guilty of of second-degree manslaughter.

Basden said jurors followed standard instructions that allowed them to leave the form blank if they could not agree.

Fisher has 30 days to file a notice of appeal of his conviction and sentence.

Fisher faces two additional cases that trail the pending resolution of his manslaughter trial. Basden set a June 22 trial date when Fisher will face charges including communication with a minor for immoral purposes and possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Investigators allege he exchanged sexual messages, images and videos with a 13-year-old girl from late 2024 into April 2025, based on phone data, social media records and a search of his phone.

In a separate case, prosecutors have charged Fisher with witness tampering, alleging that between Jan. 18-23, he attempted to influence a potential witness in his manslaughter case to provide false testimony or avoid cooperating.

Status hearings in both cases are scheduled for May 29.

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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.