Boy who threatened to kill football coaches will be jailed until 21st birthday

PORT ANGELES — The 14-year-old Sequim boy who plotted to kill three high school football coaches will be incarcerated until his 21st birthday.

Following prosecutors’ recommendations for the standard range, Clallam County Superior Court Judge George Wood on Friday imposed a sentence of about six years to 7½ years — plus an additional year for a firearm enhancement — for the boy, who was convicted last month of attempted murder and other crimes.

Attorneys for the teen, whose name is being withheld because he was tried as a juvenile, had sought a sentence lower than the standard range, citing two separate evaluations that suggest the boy suffers from a mental health condition.

Several of the boy’s family members also wrote letters to Judge Wood, detailing a difficult childhood filled with medical and emotional issues, from being abandoned by his mother to losing one whole kidney and part of the other at age 6.

Release in 2011

The boy should be released from incarceration on June 3, 2011, which is his 21st birthday, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tracey Lassus said.

He has no prior criminal history.

The teen was convicted March 21 of robbery, assault, unlawful possession of a firearm, taking a motor vehicle without permission while armed with a firearm, and three counts of first-degree attempted murder.

Investigators said he dressed in camouflage clothing and face paint, pointed a loaded shotgun at his stepmother and demanded the car keys, then set off in the minivan from his Sequim home for the Sequim High School bus barn on a Saturday, arriving two hours after the high school football team had departed for a game in Tacoma.

He was arrested later on that day, Oct. 30, after leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase on U.S. Highway 101 and state Highway 104 into Kitsap County, crashing into three vehicles and aiming a shotgun at a state trooper.

More in News

Kelly and Dan Freeman of Port Ludlow examine a 1958 Edsel on display during Friday evening’s 29th annual Ruddell Cruise-In at Ruddell Auto in Port Angeles. The event featured hundreds of antique and vintage automobiles from across the region as well as food, music and other activities. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Classic show

Kelly and Dan Freeman of Port Ludlow examine a 1958 Edsel on… Continue reading

Sequim School District officials report it could take upwards of 2 1/2 years to break ground on a new elementary school. Voters approved a $146 million, 20-year construction bond in a Feb. 11 special election that includes a new elementary school, renovated high school and more. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Sequim schools eye bond timeline

Bigger projects may be 2 years away

Sequim volunteer Emily Westcott has led the flower basket program along Washington Street since 1996. This year she’s retired to focus on other endeavors, and the city of Sequim and the Sequim School District will continue the partnership. Westcott is still seeking donations for downtown Sequim Christmas decorations through the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Sequim flower basket program shifts to city, school partnership

Westcott retires, plans to keep decorating downtown for Christmas

Clallam first in state to implement jail healthcare program

County eligible to apply for Medicare reimbursement for services

Writers to converge in Port Townsend to work on craft

Free readings open to the public next week

Firefighters extinguish blaze in fifth-floor hotel room

Firefighters from East Jefferson Fire Rescue and Navy Region… Continue reading

Mowing operation scheduled along Lake Crescent on Tuesday

Work crews from the state Department of Transportation will… Continue reading

EYE ON THE PENINSULA: County commissioners set to meet next week

Meetings across the North Olympic Peninsula

Peninsula Behavioral Health head discusses the fallout from federal bill

Anticipated cuts to Medicaid could devastate rural communities like Clallam County, leading… Continue reading

Tool library to open in Port Townsend

Drills, saws and more available to borrow

Fire restriction implemented on federal lands

Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park have restricted campfires… Continue reading