4th teen admits to murder in drug robbery-turned-homicide
Published 1:30 am Thursday, January 24, 2019
EVERETT — A 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder after all four of his co-defendants had agreed to testify against him.
Larry Dorrough, of Seattle, admitted in Snohomish County Superior Court to taking part in a drug robbery that led to a killing in south Everett in 2017.
The target of the robbery was another teenage boy, who was living in a shed on East Gibson Road. The boy’s mother, Julie Knechtel, 54, was shot and killed when she came to his defense.
Her son also was shot, reportedly by Dorrough, but survived.
Dorrough, who was charged as an adult, faces up to 32 years in prison. Sentencing is set for March 11.
The other defendants all have sentencing dates in the coming weeks.
They are Caya Lenay, 17, Mondrell Robertson, 18, Bryan Rodriguez-Hernandez, 17, and Gladyz Valencia-Anguiano, 17. They all have had birthdays since the incident occurred.
Lenay, Robertson and Rodriguez-Hernandez pleaded guilty to murder charges in adult court. Rodriguez-Hernandez admitted to shooting Knechtel.
With Wednesday’s plea, Dorrough also acknowledged that he used a firearm as a deadly weapon, which added five years to his potential prison time.
Valencia-Anguiano pleaded guilty in juvenile court in October to a reduced charge of rendering criminal assistance, a felony. She had stayed in the car during the melee.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.
