PORT ANGELES — Convicted murderer Robert Gene Covarrubias will appear in court on Thursday, but determination of his prison sentence is likely to be postponed, attorneys involved in the case said Tuesday.
A Clallam County jury convicted Covarrubias, 25, last month of first-degree murder in the rape and death of 15-year-old Melissa Leigh Carter in December 2004.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Deborah Kelly said Tuesday that she had spoken with Covarrubias’ attorney, public defender Ralph Anderson, and they agreed to postpone the sentencing.
Attorneys will probably reschedule the sentencing when they meet in Clallam County Superior Court Thursday, Kelly said.
“We haven’t even really talked about when,” Kelly added.
Anderson could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon, but co-counsel Harry Gasnick, who is also director of Clallam Public Defenders, said that he believed the sentencing hearing would be postponed.
Sentencing study
Prior to a sentencing, the state Department of Corrections conducts a study to determine the sentencing range.
The study, called a pre-sentencing investigation, was received by the attorneys last week, Gasnick said.
Attorneys generally want more than a week to review it, he said.
“This is a case where the standard range has about a 100-month swing to it,” Gasnick said.
The standard sentencing range would have Covarrubias sentenced to between 26 years and 35 years in prison, according to a plea offer made in April 2005 that Covarrubias rejected.
Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty against Covarrubias because premeditation couldn’t be proven, Kelly has said.