William Richard Joice, a former deputy Snohomish County prosecutor, was a big believer in rules and regulations, Mill Creek resident Chuck Wright said.
The two men served together on the city’s police advisory board for four years and frequently talked after meetings.
Joice told him it was the law “that really made our country,” Wright said. “You fell back on the law rather than violence.”
Joice, 50, now sits in the King County Jail. He is under investigation for the attempted murder of another attorney, Kevin Jung, 44, of Bellevue. Bail was set at $5 million at a court appearance Thursday.
Jung, who was shot Wednesday in the parking lot at his Bellevue office, remains in critical condition at Overlake Hospital Medical Center.
King County prosecutors have until Monday to charge Joice. Senior deputy prosecutor Erin Ehlert asked for the exceptionally high bail because she considers Joice extremely dangerous and a flight risk.
“We consider him a threat to our community,” Ehlert said. “And he does have financial resources, which makes him a threat to flee.”
Described by friends as calm and mild mannered, Joice’s arrest shocked many who knew and practiced with him in the Snohomish County Courthouse.
Wright said the news stunned him. A former probation and parole supervisor, Wright now is a licensed mental health professional who has seen more than his share of violence.
“Under given circumstances, we all have the ability to deviate from the norm,” Wright said. “The majority of us keep it in check, though.”
According to court documents, Joice rented a car and drove to Jung’s office Wednesday morning. A witness saw the rental car enter the parking lot near Jung’s office, then heard four shots.
Police said Jung was shot in the head. The license plate was traced to a south Everett rental agency.
Joice rented a Pontiac Grand Prix about noon Tuesday from Eight Dollar Rent-A-Car at 5705 Evergreen Way, business owner Jim Neal said. He didn’t mention where he was going, he just said he needed the car for a day, Neal said.
“It was just your average, everyday rental,” Neal said, adding that he was shocked to learn that Joice had been arrested in the shooting of Jung.
“That’s not my average, everyday rental,” Neal said.
Joice returned the car Wednesday morning, shortly after the shooting. Joice was “extremely shaky and nervous” when he returned the vehicle, documents said.
Everett police arrested the attorney a short distance away from the car rental business after Joice called for a taxi to take him to his Mill Creek office, documents said.
Police seized the rental car to search for evidence.
Joice and Jung were due to face each other in court at 10 a.m. Wednesday, just 45 minutes after the shooting.
Jung was expected to ask Snohomish County Court Commissioner Lester Stewart to fine Joice and his clients more than $2,000 each, the latest battle in a protracted court fight over the sale of a Korean grocery in Lynnwood.
Jung accused Joice and his clients of failing to comply with more than 15 court orders issued since the civil suit was filed in April 2003, according to Snohomish County Superior Court documents.
Joice disagreed, court documents indicate, saying he and his clients had complied with all orders and provided the information requested. He provided copies of two checks, one for $2,000 and another for $4,382, for sanctions issued earlier in the case, according to court documents.
Letters exchanged between the two attorneys indicate increasing animosity, but there were no hints of possible violence.
Joice also rented a car from the same agency Oct. 27-29. Wednesday’s scheduled court hearing in Snohomish County Superior Court was continued from Oct. 29, papers said.
Documents also say Joice was an avid shooter who routinely practiced with members of the Mill Creek Police Department.
A former Air Force fighter pilot, Joice worked as a Snohomish County deputy prosecutor from February 1991 through December 2000, handling felony, misdemeanor and District Court cases.
King County Journal reporters Noel S. Brady and David Grant, and Herald reporter Diana Hefley, contributed to this article.
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