Prison terms in fatal robbery

By JIM HALEY

Herald Writer

Everyone who spoke in court Thursday agreed that what happened during an April 4 Everett robbery was senseless and wasted several lives.

Two men were sentenced to long prison terms in the shooting death of Scott Donaldson, 41, during an attempt to rob Donaldson’s roommate of money and drugs.

A woman also went to court Thursday for sentencing, but her term remained unresolved because she fired her attorney at what was supposed to be her sentencing hearing.

Andrew A. Raymond, 20, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, was sentenced to 27 years in prison. He’s the man who shot Donaldson.

His friend, Albert Pedro Jaquez, 21, was sentenced to a little more than 15 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

The third defendant is Raymond’s girlfriend, Kimberly Kristina Carter, 20. A jury in September convicted her of first-degree murder and witness tampering.

All three defendants are Seattle residents.

Tears flowed freely in Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair’s courtroom while friends and relatives of the victim and defendants sobbed throughout the sentencing proceeding.

Lisa Paul, deputy prosecutor, summed it up: "I’m at a loss to explain why it happened."

Neither Jaquez nor Raymond had previous criminal convictions, and the plan to rob Donaldson’s roommate was ill-conceived, Paul said. Raymond participated in the robbery after drinking a lot of alcohol and taking drugs.

Donaldson was shot to death because he refused to follow orders to lie down on the floor in his home.

Paul described him as a man who helped other people who were down on their luck, offering them a place to live but outlawing drugs there. Unknown to him, one of the people he helped was dealing drugs, she said.

His crime was he failed to get down on the floor when armed men burst into the residence, "so he died," she said.

"What struck me more than anything was a lack of concern for the safety of others," said Paul, who recommended the sentences to the judge.

Relatives of the victim spoke, directing their comments to Jaquez and Raymond.

"The act that happened was the worst thing that has happened in our lives," said Donaldson’s sister, Roxanne Sychuk. His mother, Ruby Donaldson, told the two, "We will always have that empty spot you made."

Steve Garvey, Jaquez’s attorney, agreed that he could find nobody who had anything bad to say about Donaldson, and his client feels deep remorse.

Jaquez told the court: "I really am sorry. I really am sorry. I never wanted anyone to die."

Raymond didn’t mince words.

"I’m at fault," he said, adding that the shooting ruined so many lives. "I don’t know why things happened the way they did. …I can try to change. I can try to help someone someday."

Fair said she wrestled with words such as greed, waste and recklessness. The facts of the case read like a bad movie, the judge said. She told Raymond and Jaquez they "have created an utter wasteland" in the lives of Donaldson’s family and their own families.

In another courtroom, Carter’s scheduled sentencing ran into a snag when she accused her attorney, Brian Phillips, of incompetent representation at her trial. When Phillips and deputy prosecutor Paul both agreed that Phillips should be discharged from the case, the judge said he had no choice but to agree.

Another attorney will be appointed to represent her. That attorney will decide whether to proceed with Carter’s charges that she was not adequately represented.

However, Judge Gerald Knight, who was the trial judge, cautioned Carter that it appeared to him Phillips did a good job.

"I’ve seen nothing but an extremely competent, experienced advocate," Knight said of Phillips.

He said some people think they know something about the law and don’t.

"It can be very dangerous," Knight told Carter. "You could very well be your own worst enemy."