Marysville woman pleads guilty to obstructing a murder probe

Published 6:44 am Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Associated Press

SEATTLE — A Marysville woman who was sought by federal prosecutors for allegedly lying to a grand jury investigating the 2001 murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Wales has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor obstruction charge.

The Seattle Times reports U.S. District Judge James Robart sentenced Shawna Reid to time served — a total of nine days in custody since she was indicted in 2019 — with no additional supervised release, plus a $25 fine.

Robart took Reid’s plea at a Zoom court hearing announced just hours before it convened Monday morning.

The 2019 indictment of Reid on felony charges of lying to and obstructing a grand jury investigating Wales’ killing was seen as a potential break in the case, which remains unsolved. Wales was shot several times by someone who broke into his Seattle backyard on the night of Oct. 11, 2001.

But the government appears to have gotten little out of the prosecution.

Reid was indicted on charges of lying to a grand jury and obstruction of justice. A conviction could have sent her to prison for up to five years.

Reid, who said she is a stay-at-home mother for her two young children and living with her fiancé in Marysville, said she was grateful to the court and its pretrial supervision, which has helped her through drug treatment and enabled her to stay sober for six months.

“I’m doing amazing and I want to keep it that way,” Reid, 36, told the judge. “I’m just happy to move forward with my life.”

The plea agreement alleges Reid “willfully” attempted to obstruct the court order that she testify truthfully to the grand jury in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Her attorney said Reid never had anything more to offer the investigation.