An electrical maintenance and installation worker had no criminal record until he drank too much, then made a mistake that killed a friend and brought him afoul of the law.
Ronald Daniel Bowen mixed alcohol with a pistol, which he brought out to scare the friend into leaving his Everett residence.
The gun went off, killing Kurt Schroeder, who was shot in the head.
On Wednesday, a Snohomish County Superior Court judge imposed the lowest prison sentence he could after a jury in May convicted Bowen of first-degree manslaughter in Schroeder’s death.
Bowen, however, won’t have to start serving the sentence immediately.
Over the objection of deputy prosecutor John Stansell, Judge Gerald Knight said that Bowen can wait until after an appeal of the conviction before being taken into custody. That could be months or years from now.
Bowen will have to post a $25,000 bond. In addition he can’t commit any crimes and can’t possess any firearms while waiting for the state Court of Appeals to rule, Knight said.
Defense attorney Stephen Conroy of Lynnwood asked for a stay of the sentence pending appeal, partly because of Bowen’s clean record.
Stansell, Conroy and a cousin of the victim all recommended the low end of the sentencing range for Bowen.
The cousin, Bobby Schroeder, told the judge that “both families have been hurt and changed for life by this one act.”
Bobby Shroeder said she knows that her cousin would ask for leniency if he had a chance.
“I know it was not a planned act; just a very stupid one,” Bobby Schroeder said.
Knight told Bowen this case was a prime example of why alcohol with firearms don’t belong together. He said Bowen’s knowledge of guns should have made him more careful.
Bowen could have gotten more than a 13-year sentence under state law.
The argument, in a home in the 2600 block of Harrison Avenue, happened after the two men had been celebrating Bowen’s 48th birthday
Bowen asked Kurt Schroeder to leave the house. Schroeder did, but returned later, according to testimony. Bowen allowed him inside, but the two argued again.
After Schroeder refused to leave and put out two cigarettes on the home’s floor, Bowen went to his bedroom to fetch a .22-caliber pistol, the defendant told police.
Conroy argued that the gun accidentally discharged, and Bowen didn’t mean to pull the trigger.
Stansell told the jury that the shooting was manslaughter because Bowen was reckless in his handling of the pistol.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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