An Eastern Washington man will serve at least 25 years in prison after a Snohomish County Superior Court jury convicted him Friday of first-degree murder in the July 21 shooting death of Shawn Tuohy, 23, of Darrington.
Daniel Lawrence Young, 47, is the second person to face a long prison term in Tuohy’s death.
A third man, Young’s son, Matthew, 21, was acquitted of first-degree murder by a jury April 14.
The Youngs and co-defendant Bryce William Howe, 21, drove to Snohomish County on the pretext of making a drug sale, but really planned to rob Tuohy of his money, deputy prosecutor Helene Blume said.
All three defendants are from Newport, northeast of Spokane.
Howe pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against the other two.
Matthew Young, the only one of the three who will avoid punishment, admitted shooting Tuohy once in the head.
Daniel Young is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday by Judge Thomas Wynne.
A jury of seven men and five women deliberated about nine hours before reaching a verdict. Among other things, jurors listened to a taped statement Daniel Young gave to police implicating himself and the other two in the shooting death.
Daniel Young’s father, Larry Young, also of Newport, is one of three family members who sat through the two-week trial. He said he was disappointed in the result.
“I can’t blame the jury. The sad thing is the jury wasn’t allowed to get all the information. I think juries should be entitled to every bit of information, whether good or bad,” Larry Young said.
Defense lawyer Steve Garvey of Everett argued that the prosecution presented only circumstantial evidence and that Daniel Young may not have known that someone else was planning a drug robbery.
Even if he did, his mere presence and knowledge of a planned crime do not make him an accomplice, Garvey told jurors.
Blume argued that Daniel Young was a willing accomplice and drove his son and Howe to Snohomish County specifically for the robbery. Even though Matthew Young fired the fatal shot, all three involved in what she called a “stupid scheme” are guilty of murder, Blume said.
Tuohy knew both Youngs, but not Howe. The plan was for Howe to run out of the bushes at the Denny’s restaurant parking lot at Island Crossing and disable the Darrington man.
The plan went awry when Tuohy escaped from Howe and got a gun. Howe fled, and Tuohy started shooting at him. That’s when Matthew Young shot and killed Tuohy.
Matthew Young’s lawyer, Pete Mazzone of Everett, argued in April that his client was just defending his friend, Howe, when he fired at Tuohy.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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