EVERETT — Jeffrey Cleator Jr. looked like he had seen a ghost minutes after fleeing the scene of a violent robbery that left an Everett man dead.
Cleator was so upset that he threw up in his hat while he was in the backseat of a car as it sped away from the Bluffs Apartments on W. Casino Road, according to court papers.
A judge on Thursday sentenced Cleator to 14 years in prison for his part in the Aug. 13 shooting death of Alonzo Lopez-Gonzalez.
Cleator, 26, pleaded guilty in January to burglary and robbery charges.
Prosecutors allege that Cleator’s buddy, Eric “Icky” Lowe is responsible for killing Lopez-Gonzalez. Lowe’s murder trial began Monday. Prosecutors likely will wrap up their case against him today.
A witness on Thursday told jurors that Cleator and Lowe barged into his apartment Aug. 13 minutes before he heard police sirens outside the Bluff Apartments. Cleator was pale and clearly scared, the man said. Lowe was covered in blood. He stripped off his clothes and dumped them and a pistol on the man’s floor.
“It was a tornado of ‘What the hell?'” the witness said.
The pair quickly fled and the man told jurors his girlfriend threw the gun and bloody clothes in a dumpster outside.
Prosecutors allege that Lowe and Cleator forced their way into Lopez-Gonzalez’s apartment. Lopez-Gonzalez was a suspected heroin dealer and known to carry large amounts of cash.
He was pistol-whipped while the intruders demanded money and drugs, according to court papers. During the beating, Lopez-Gonzalez, 22, attempted to flee. He was shot in the back after either being pushed or jumping from a second-story balcony, prosecutors wrote in court papers.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Chris Dickinson said Thursday that he doesn’t believe that Cleator ever intended for the robbery to turn into murder.
The situation spun out of control in large part because of Lowe’s actions, Dickinson said.
Lowe manipulated and used Cleator that night, public defender Sonja Hardenbrook said. Her client is sorry that he wasn’t able to put a stop to the violence. That is something he must deal with for the rest of his life, she said.
He’s cooperated with investigators since his arrest, Hardenbrook added.
“I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I want a chance to turn my life around,” Cleator said.
Superior Court Judge Larry McKeeman agreed to the low-end sentence recommended by prosecutors. He said the 14-year prison term was reasonable given Cleator’s cooperation with investigators.
Cleator and Lowe are believed to be members of the Waco Boys, an Everett-based criminal street gang. Some members were caught up in a 2010 federal drug bust.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
