Goshua King had just been released from jail for imprisoning his girlfriend when he pulled the trigger of a sawed-off shotgun and killed Robert Sandgren.
King, 25, hardly knew Sandgren, 18, but he told police he went with two other people to the teen’s Everett house March 24 to teach him a lesson.
Sandgren’s girlfriend had complained that Sandgren had roughed her up, court documents said. King; Aaron Thompson, 23; and Justin Evans, 26, went to confront him.
King was holding the shotgun when Sandgren struggled and grabbed the barrel. The shotgun went off. Sandgren was shot in the head.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Gerald Knight on Thursday didn’t buy King’s story, that he was rushing to the “aid of a damsel in distress.”
He pointed out that King had just served time for an assault on his girlfriend.
“It seems to be a double-standard on how you operate,” the judge said. “He is dead because of you.”
That said, Knight sentenced King to 20 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Cindy Larsen was seeking a long sentence for King. Sandgren’s death, she said, was not an accident. King deliberately brought a gun to the house and wanted to fight the man he killed.
“He’s shown no respect for the law, and shown a general lack of remorse,” she said.
Patricia Sandgren addressed her son’s killer on Thursday. She talked of raising her son and the heartache of losing him.
“Only because of my faith in Jesus Christ that I’m able to function at all,” Sandgren said.
She called her son’s death at King’s hand a cowardly act. She also had harsh words for Sandgren’s girlfriend, saying she set in motion events that led to the shooting.
She urged King to consider his life and where he would spend eternity.
Mickey Krom, King’s attorney, asked the court for mercy.
King had been high on methamphetamine and was sleep-deprived the day he confronted Sandgren, Krom said.
King never intended to shoot Sandgren and was remorseful, the attorney said.
King apologized Thursday. He said he wanted to change his life for the better. He prays for the Sandgren’s family, he said.
“I never meant for this to happen, and I’m really sorry,” King said.
Thompson and Evans, who had agreed to testify against King, are expected to be sentenced next week. They both are charged with second-degree manslaughter. Evans also is charged with arson for torching the getaway car.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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