PORT HADLOCK — The surprise guilty plea by Ryan Neil Sorensen on Tuesday has at least one local legal expert doing a double-take.
Sorensen, 31, admitted to five felonies related to gunning down tow truck operator Frank M. “Skip” Smith Jr., his former father-in-law, on April 29 at Smith’s Port Hadlock wrecking yard.
Sorensen pleaded guilty to first-degree premeditated murder, two counts of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of second-degree assault. All counts include two firearm enhancements.
First-degree premeditated murder carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, — but that would be out of the standard range for Sorensen, who doesn’t have a significant criminal background.
Sentencing is scheduled Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Former Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Shea — who has also been the lead attorney in the Clallam-Jefferson County Public Defender’s office — said Wednesday that a plea like Sorensen’s is rare.
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The rest of the story appears in Thurday’s Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition.