Man sentenced to 22¾ years in assault, murder-for-hire plot

Published 1:30 am Sunday, November 24, 2019

EVERETT — A Seattle man was sentenced last week to 22¾ years for recruiting an inmate to kill the woman he was accused of raping.

Earlier in November, a jury found Jerry Wood Jr., 43, guilty of solicitation of murder and kidnapping. With a deadlocked jury, however, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Marybeth Dingledy called a mistrial on the charge of second-degree rape.

During a trial that lasted more than three weeks, Wood said his sexual encounter with the woman in January 2017 was consensual. However, he admitted he hit her afterward.

At the sentencing hearing Thursday, he pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in exchange for dropping the rape charge.

The woman, who is in her 40s, met Wood on Jan. 15, 2017, at the Viking Sports Bar & Grill in Shoreline. At some point, they left together along with another man, and ended up at a house in Arlington.

Much of the trial revolved around what happened in the driveway, and whether Wood raped and beat her in the car. By the end of the night, the woman had suffered bruising above her right eye, bleeding in a cornea and swollen, bloody lips. Chunks of her hair were later found in the car.

Wood was arrested for investigation of rape. While in jail, Wood apparently attempted several strategies to beat the charges. According to court records, he sent a note to the judge asking that his case be dismissed, and he exaggerated or feigned symptoms of mental illness.

In January 2018, Wood gave another inmate two books. In them were hidden, handwritten messages giving detailed instructions to get rid of the woman Wood was accused of assaulting.

“Make her disappear by any means homie,” one note stated.

Another note ordered the inmate to inject 2 to 3 grams of heroin into her. The inmate told a detective that was enough to kill someone.

“I know what murder for hire is, and this is it,” he said, according to court papers.

Arguing for a higher sentence on Thursday, deputy prosecutor Matt Baldock said it was clear Wood was willing to do whatever it took to avoid the consequences of his actions.

“It is offensive to the core of our system to strike out against a victim in an effort to silence her,” Baldock said.

The woman Wood assaulted and planned to kill did not appear in court. Baldock said she was too afraid to testify, and just wanted to put the matter behind her.

Wood read at length from a written statement, describing the challenges he’s faced in his life, thanking his mother for believing in his innocence, recalling times he’s helped people, and noting his calm demeanor during the court proceedings.

“This has been the biggest reality check that I have ever experienced in my life,” Wood said. “And I’ve been through some really dangerous situations.”

He ended his statement with a poem.

It began: “I sincerely apologize for the actions I took; I didn’t mean a single word that was written in those books.”

At the conclusion of Wood’s poem, Dingledy announced the sentence.

“If you don’t follow the law, you end up in custody,” Dingledy said. “In your case, you were placed in custody because of some allegations, and while you were in custody you continued to try to … fix things. That’s where you got in the most trouble.”

Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @zachariahtb.