EVERETT — It was Codie Allen, not his heroin addiction, who set in motion a plan to rob another young man at an Edmonds grocery store in March, a Snohomish County judge said Wednesday.
Allen was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the botched robbery and stabbing death of Colin Dahlquist, 23.
Dozens of Dahlquist’s friends and family filled the courtroom.
His mother, Donna Dahlquist, described them as “glorious misfits and nerds who loved Colin and he loved them,” and they all suffered a profound loss, she said.
“I’m sorry for what lays ahead for all of us,” she said. “I’m sorry for what lays ahead for the defendant and his family.”
Allen, 21, had no criminal history except a misdemeanor theft. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to robbery and manslaughter in Dahlquist’s death.
Allen’s attorney argued that it was a case of failed self-defense and sought a shorter sentence of about eight years. Allen’s risky choices were driven by addiction and his desperation to get high, the attorney said.
Allen and a female co-defendant made a plan to rob Dahlquist of $850 by pretending they were going to sell him heroin.
Allen’s “plan from the get-go was to take the money,” Snohomish County deputy prosecuting attorney Robert Grant said in court Wednesday. The plan went sour when Dahlquist produced a knife and fought back. The struggle ended in his death after Allen got hold of the knife.
Allen hung his head while his own mother described her loss and asked the victim’s family to someday forgive her.
Allen said he has been grieving every day in jail, trying to live with what happened.
“From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry,” he said.
Allen at any time could have stopped the robbery, Superior Court Judge Linda Krese said. He also could have called 911 to get the victim help instead of fleeing, she said.
Both families were hurt, the judge said, but unlike the victim, Allen still has an opportunity to get clean and change his life, she said. That chance was taken from Dahlquist, who was described in his obituary as a “gentle soul.”
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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