MARYSVILLE — A man who shot and killed his longtime friend at a Marysville apartment complex was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison.
Khoa Nguyen, 37, pleaded guilty this month to first-degree manslaughter and unlawful firearm possession in the fatal shooting of Stephen Collins, 37.
The two had been friends since childhood, according to court documents. Leading up to Collins’ killing in 2023, Nguyen’s life had been plagued by a cycle of “drugs, guns and unresolved trauma,” defense attorney Jeffrey Kradel said Wednesday.
“He sits here as a 37-year-old man, ashamed, full of regret and sad,” Kradel said in court. “Mr. Collins was his friend. They did have issues with each other when they were little and when they were adults, but in the end they were friends.”
Nguyen’s family sat behind his attorney as Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Cindy Larsen handed down his sentence. Prosecutors and the defense agreed to recommend that sentence.
About a month before last year’s shooting, Nguyen banged on the door of Collins’ apartment in the Hallmark House apartment complex at 7218 47th Ave. NE, according to charging papers. He claimed to have shot someone and needed a place to stay.
The two friends reportedly got into an argument when Nguyen began loading Collins’ belongings into his car, leading to a swift falling out.
On the afternoon of Jan. 2, Nguyen texted Collins. A witness told investigators Nguyen had taken Xanax that day, charging papers say.
“Hey I wanted to tell u sorry,” he wrote, according to court papers. “It’s Khoa.”
The defendant sent Collins several other scrambled texts, saying he was high off Xanax bars the day of their fight, too.
Around 10 p.m., Nguyen again showed up to his friend’s apartment, charges say. Collins refused to answer, but eventually went down to the parking lot when he realized he left his phone in his car.
Ten minutes later, security footage caught Collins standing outside Nguyen’s passenger door, according to court documents. Flashes lit up the camera. Collins fell back.
The footage showed Nguyen exit the car, walk over to Collins and run back to the driver’s seat. He drove away.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed Collins died at the scene from three gunshot wounds.
Soon after, police located Nguyen in his home in Granite Falls, leading to an hours-long standoff with a SWAT team where he threatened to kill himself, charges say.
Officers eventually took him into custody. He implied to officers he killed Collins in self-defense, according to court papers. Investigators recovered a Honda Pilot, with two different license plates, and a 9 mm pistol with no serial number, charges say. Three bullet casings were found in the Pilot.
Following Collins’ death, witnesses told investigators of Nguyen’s substance abuse issues, and that he often got violent when he was high, according to court documents.
Nguyen had multiple prior felony convictions, including for taking a motor vehicle without permission in 2009 and possession of a stolen vehicle in 2015.
In a letter to the judge, Collins’ sister described her brother as one of the “sweetest souls” she knew.
“I really can’t express how much he is missed,” she wrote. “Even though Stephen may have been involved in the wrong crowd, he didn’t deserve what happened to him. We believe justice should be served.”
Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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