EVERETT — He sat between his mom and grandmother, petting a black Labrador retriever named Stilson.
The service dog held the 11-year-old boy’s attention while the adults talked about his dad, Donald Barker, and one of the men convicted of killing him.
The three men didn’t know Barker. They didn’t know he loved the Beatles or that his dad took him to Disneyland for his eighth birthday. They didn’t know that Barker had a son of his own, who waited for him to call each night.
Barker owed his drug dealer $30 — that’s all that concerned them that night.
A judge on Monday sentenced one of the men, William Gobat, to 18 years in prison for the Dec. 27 killing. A jury last month convicted Gobat of second-degree murder.
Prosecutors alleged that Barker, 37, who struggled with a crack addiction, had gone to buy drugs outside Madison Elementary School. His dealer sent Gobat and two other men, Patrick Griffiths and Jimmy Ruiz to collect a debt.
Barker was beaten and stabbed. He was left to die in the rain.
On Monday, his mother, Beth Piasecki, read a letter that her grandson wrote the judge.
“My dad is a very good dad,” the boy wrote.
His dad gave him great hugs and never missed one of his soccer games, sometimes riding his bicycle for miles just to see him practice. The boy wrote about his father’s funeral. He was sad but happy that people said nice things about his dad. He told the judge about the time his dad pulled him from the river when he got caught up in some logs.
“My dad could save me from anything,” the boy wrote.
He also wrote about the defendants. He is worried they could come back for him.
“I’m scared of the bad guys,” he wrote.
Gobat, 35, testified that he punched Barker once but didn’t participate in the attack that led to man’s death.
On Monday, he tried to convince a judge to appoint him a new attorney. He also asked him to overturn the jury’s verdict.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ronald Castleberry denied the motion, saying that Gobat was “grasping at straws” to escape punishment.
Deputy prosecutor Matt Baldock urged the judge to sentence Gobat to the maximum sentence under state guidelines. Gobat led the charge and initiated the violence inflicted on Barker, Baldock said.
Gobat’s attorney Jesse Cantor disputed that his client was the leader. Gobat didn’t have any previous criminal history. The high-end sentence should be reserved for repeat offenders, Cantor said.
Griffiths pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and was sentenced last week to 16 years in prison. Ruiz pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
Gobat read a letter, saying that he regrets what happened to Barker.
“If I could have done anything to save him, I would have,” Gobat said.
Castleberry wasn’t convinced.
“It’s pretty apparent Mr. Gobat was an integral part in the initial confrontation and attack and continued to minimize and deny responsibility even today,” the judge said.
Castleberry also spoke to Barker’s mother. He told her that he was struck by her willingness to pray for the defendants and their families. She had summoned compassion and understanding at a time when it would have been easier to give into anger.
The judge said he hopes that Barker’s family can help others touched by addiction. Perhaps Donald Barker’s story — their story — will inspire others to get clean.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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