EVERETT — A man may spend nearly a year behind bars after he broke into a neighbor’s home outside Darrington and fired a gun.
Lance Cochran, 37, was sentenced on Thursday to 11 months and 20 days in incarceration for a conviction of second-degree assault. He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing. He will be given credit for 28 days that he spent in inpatient addiction treatment.
The sentence is below the 12-month minimum outlined in state guidelines. The judge cited the defendant’s struggles with PTSD, originating from when Cochran was deployed as a U.S. Marine to the front lines of combat during the initial invasion of Iraq.
“The sentence agreement was negotiated in light of Mr. Cochran’s tragic circumstances, and recognizes the scars he has as a result of the sacrifices he made for his country,” defense attorney Peter Mazzone wrote in a memorandum to the court.
Charging papers detailed Cochran’s issues with mental health and drug addiction. He was diagnosed with PTSD in 2016, but never sought treatment.
When a family member died in February 2018, he changed for the worse, documents say. He took time off from his job at the Department of Natural Resources, stayed home drinking beer all day and started smoking methamphetamine with his neighbor.
In March, he became violent toward his wife for the first time in their 10-year marriage, punching holes in the wall of the bathroom, documents say.
Scared, his wife grabbed a 9mm handgun and ran upstairs. Cochran retrieved an ax and gave chase. He headbutted her in the face, knocking her to the ground.
She pointed the gun at him.
“Go ahead, do it,” he reportedly said. “I’m ready to go to the other side.”
She didn’t shoot. Instead, she left and stayed at a friend’s house.
Later that same month, prosecutors wrote, Cochran broke into his neighbor’s home — the one he smoked methamphetamine with — wearing a mask and holding an M4 carbine rifle. He was stumbling and possibly intoxicated. Without speaking, he pointed the gun at his neighbor, who was on the couch.
The neighbor asked if he could leave. Hearing no response, he ran out the door.
“Get back here!” Cochran yelled. He fired off a round.
The neighbor ran into a nearby house, where two women called 911. He then got into his car parked out front. Three more shots rang out. One bullet struck a rear tire on his vehicle. Another blasted through his house window and broke his television.
Cochran got into a truck and drove off, just as deputies were arriving.
He went into hiding. At least one person claimed that Cochran outfitted himself with a military-style rifle and a ghillie suit, a camouflage garment favored by snipers seeking to blend into their surroundings. He was said to have been lying in the woods, watching deputies conduct their investigation.
On March 21, Cochran showed up at his friend’s house. He talked about hearing demon voices and turning into a werewolf at night. After his friend went to work, Cochran apparently ransacked the place, taking axes, a machete, a backpack and clothes.
Two days later, someone called 911, saying Cochran was at the Two Rivers Smoke Shop. Two officers from the Department of Natural Resources — Cochran’s colleagues — took him into custody.
Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @zachariahtb.
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