KENT — The woman responsible for a stolen-car chase in which two people were killed in SeaTac was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison.
That was the term recommended by King County prosecutors.
Michelle Lynn Gunderson, 21, entered a modified guilty plea in February to second-degree murder charges.
Gunderson was fleeing police in a stolen car the night of Dec. 19 when she collided with another car near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The crash killed Richard Jones, 65, and his wife, MaryLou, 56, who were returning home from a Christmas concert.
Prosecutors alleged Gunderson was high on drugs at the time. Gunderson entered an Alford plea, in which she didn’t admit guilt, but agreed there was enough evidence for a jury to convict her.
"I know that I have to pay for this, and I’m willing to do so," Gunderson told King County Superior Court at her sentencing Friday.
Kent police said they were watching two parked cars that had been reported stolen when Gunderson got into one and drove away at speeds as high as 100 mph. She crashed into the Joneses’ car shortly after police abandoned the chase as too risky.
The Joneses, formerly of Kent, had recently moved back to the area after working as social directors at a recreational vehicle resort near Tucson, Ariz. The night of their deaths, they were celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary.
Mount Vernon
Fugitive intends to acknowledge killing ex-wife: A man arrested last November in Mexico after eight years as a fugitive intends to acknowledge he killed his ex-wife, a prosecutor says. Michael McGuffey, 37, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Michele Torres on Sept. 27, 1993, outside the Mount Vernon restaurant where she worked. Brought back to Washington state to face trial, he originally pleaded innocent. "We are pleased that Mr. McGuffey is telling the court that he is willing to accept responsibility for killing Shelley Torres," Skagit County Prosecutor Tom Verge said Thursday. He surprised Superior Court personnel during a routine hearing with the announcement of a pending plea. He declined to provide details.
Wenatchee
Boyfriend of teen who died of overdose is sentenced: The boyfriend of a 16-year-old Wenatchee girl who died of a methamphetamine overdose has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in her death. Jason Wendt entered a modified guilty plea in March to controlled substance homicide in the death of Lisa Morrow, and delivery of methamphetamine to a person under the age of 18. Wendt, 26, Wenatchee, also received an additional 18 months in prison for violating the terms of probation from a previous conviction for residential burglary. His co-defendant, Larry Tuckey, 26, Wenatchee, was sentenced in March to 8 1/2years in prison for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance to someone under 18 years of age. Morrow died Oct. 31, 2001, of a methamphetamine overdose.
Federal Way
Two wounded after chase: A man and a woman involved in a police shooting Friday morning were in satisfactory condition at a Seattle hospital. Federal Way police said a police officer in Kent attempted to stop a driver wanted on a drug charge when the man drove off, dragging the officer for a short distance. The officer was not injured. Police followed the 38-year-old man and his passenger, a 32-year-old woman from Bothell, to Federal Way. When officers tried approaching the vehicle, the driver accelerated toward them, police said. Police responded by firing shots. The man suffered a gunshot wound to his left shoulder and left hand, while the woman was shot in the left buttock, Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said. Both were in satisfactory condition.
From Herald news services
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