For four hours, Larry Kloes was terrorized and beaten by three Pierce County teenagers who invaded his Snohomish home in the early hours of June 26, 2004.
Finally, as he pleaded for them to leave and get him medical aid, the teens improvised a silencer and shot Kloes in the head with his own pistol.
Two of those teens were in court Thursday for sentencing on first-degree murder, robbery and other convictions.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Gerald Knight sentenced Austin Lee Mays, 16, of Bonney Lake to 42 years behind bars, and Perry Marshal Rothermel, 19, of Puyallup to 40 years.
A third defendant, Jeremy Boone, 16, of Sumner was sentenced earlier to more than 36 years in prison.
Although Mays was 15 at the time of the murder, he was tried as an adult.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys argued Thursday about how to divide responsibility for the crimes, and how much time Mays and Rothermel should serve.
Deputy prosecutor Matt Hunter argued that Mays was the mastermind of the crime, killing Kloes out of revenge because the 49-year-old Snohomish man had previously turned him in to police for stealing.
Hunter said the theft and killing happened even though Kloes had befriended Mays and at one time had allowed him and his mother to live on his property. According to documents, Mays tried several times to recruit teens to rob and kill Kloes, finally getting Rothermel and Boone to accompany him.
Hunter asked for a 50-year term for Mays and 40 years for Rothermel.
“Austin Mays has earned it,” Hunter told the judge. “He worked hard for those 50 years.”
Everett defense lawyer Max Harrison talked for half an hour about the abysmal home life Mays had as he was growing up. He was a product of neglect, abuse and abandonment, Harrison said.
Harrison asked the judge to impose the minimum term, 35 years. Even that, Harrison said, means Mays “has forfeited his youth. He has given up the solid years of adulthood.”
He pointed out that the other two defendants had friends or relatives in the courtroom for sentencing, but there was no one there to speak for Mays.
As for Rothermel, public defender Caroline Mann said 35 years also would be appropriate for her client.
Neither Rothermel nor Boone knew Kloes, she said.
Rothermel’s mother, Leanne Lasiter, told the judge her son’s actions were out of character. She asked for the lowest sentence, saying, “I know in my heart it won’t be lost on him.”
Kloes’ mother, Leilia Kloes, addressed both Mays and Rothermel.
“You had no quarrel with our son. You killed simply because Austin Mays wanted it done,” she said to Rothermel. “You became his goon.”
To Mays, she recalled the kindnesses that her son had bestowed on him, and said “you gave deceit in return.”
After the sentencing, Kloes said she was disappointed, particularly that Mays didn’t get a longer term.
Mays apologized in court, but he also apologized when he was sentenced for stealing from her son, she said.
“I’ve heard that before,” Kloes said.
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