Guilty plea in motel death
Published 10:53 pm Wednesday, July 16, 2008
MONROE — One punch.
That’s all it took to end the life of one man and change the life of another.
Jesse Bullington and Kenneth Wolfe faced off outside a Monroe motel in February. Wolfe told Bullington to leave the motel. He shoved the smaller man away from him.
Bullington, 30, balled up his fist. His hand crashed into Wolfe’s jaw.
The impact knocked the motel manager to the ground. His head snapped back. His skull was fractured by the asphalt.
Wolfe, 46, died a short time later.
Bullington on Wednesday pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in Snohomish County Superior Court.
He entered a plea that allowed him to deny any wrongdoing. Instead, he admitted there’s enough evidence to convince a jury he’s guilty of the crime.
Superior Court Judge Kenneth Cowsert carefully read through the plea with Bullington. The judge repeatedly told Bullington to speak up if he had questions because there was no going back once Bullington entered his plea.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow plans to ask that Bullington be given more than the standard prison sentence because he has five previous felony convictions in Nebraska, including second-degree assault.
Darrow will recommend Bullington spend nearly four years in prison.
Public defender Gabriel Rothstein told the judge his client agrees that he has prior convictions, but the attorney said he will seek a sentence at the low end of the standard range. Court documents show that Bullington was going to claim that he struck Wolfe in self-defense.
Wolfe’s family and friends filled two benches in the courtroom on Wednesday.
The slain man and his wife managed the Brookside Motel along U.S. 2 for several years. They worked hard to clean it up and cooperate with local police, Wolfe’s relatives said.
Bullington had lived at the roadside motel for a couple of months.
He and Wolfe got into a shouting match after Bullington complained about barking dogs.
The argument moved to the parking lot, where witnesses reported seeing Bullington punch Wolfe. The witnesses told detectives that Bullington laughed when Wolfe fell back and hit his head on the pavement, court documents show.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 7.
A similar assault recently happened in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood. A 60-year-old man who was tending a small garden in a traffic circle died after he was struck once and hit his head on the ground. Seattle police arrested the suspect Wednesday. He has been charged with second-degree murder.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
