Superior Court Judge John Erlick on Friday sentenced a 17-year-old Auburn youth to 35 years in prison for shooting and injuring two brothers, then 17 and 19, in Auburn on July 6, 2009.
A jury found Andrew Archuleta, 15 years old at the time of his crimes, guilty of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, first degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. The sentence included a 24-month gang enhancement.
Prosecutors pushed early on to try Archuleta as an adult because of the seriousness of the charges. In January 2010, King County Juvenile Court held a hearing and declined jurisdiction, allowing prosecutors to try Archuleta as an adult.
A conviction in adult court, including the firearm sentencing enhancements, carries a sentence range of 33 to 41 years in prison. A conviction in Juvenile Court would have earned Archuleta a maximum sentence of detention up to age 21.
Prosectuors Karissa Taylor and Julie Kline had asked for 35 years. Defense attorney Matt Hartman asked for an exceptionally low sentence of 22 years.
“This was a very tough case for all parties,” Hartman said. “Mr. Archuleta was found guilty of some very serious crimes. By all accounts, he has had a very unfortunate life. He has not been afforded many of the opportunities that most of the members of our community have.
“I asked that the court impose an exceptional sentence of 22 years, which is, I believe a sufficient amount of time to hold him accountable, but also enough time to rehabilitate him, because we can’t incarcerate him or any defendant forever. At some point, these people are going to reenter our community.”
Hartman said he is very likely to file an appeal.
“There are a lot of issues in this case for an appellate attorney to review,” Hartman said.
“The defense asked for an exceptional sentence downwards, which is uncommon, and the judge agreed that it wasn’t appropriate in this case and went ahead and denied it and sentenced him to 35 years in prison,” said King County Prosecutor’s Spokesman Ian Goodhew.
In court papers, Auburn police detective James Hamil offered this account of what happened:
At 9:33 p.m. July 6, Auburn police responded to numerous reports of gunshots and people shot in the street in front of 1210 30th St. SE. Officers found a large group of people surrounding David Garnica, 19, and his younger brother, Isaac, 17, as they lay in the street, bleeding from gunshot wounds. According to court papers, David had been shot in the fingers of his right hand, and Isaac had sustained three shots to his torso, one to his arm, and one to his face. Both brothers would survive the shooting.
David told officers who visited him later at Auburn Regional Medical Center that he and Isaac had been in the street skateboarding when an unknown male walked toward them, unknown for the moment because he had covered his face. The male walked past David and began shooting Isaac in the back. David punched the guy in the face, and the assailant turned and shot at him. David put up his hands to protect his face and was shot in the right hand.
According to court records, the commotion knocked the covering off the gunman’s face, and David told police that he recognized his attacker as Archuleta. He told police that the two were not friends, but that he knew Archuleta from school and from other minor social contacts.
When police visited David later at Auburn Regional Medical Center, he picked Archuleta out of a photo montage. Asked if he knew of a motive for the shooting, court papers say, David said that Isaac had once stolen Archuleta’s girlfriend. He added that a second brother, a former gang member, used to beat up Archuleta and members of his gang, the Pew Wee Serenos.
Police arrested Archuleta in Tacoma where they recovered a gun holster and hand-written gang signs. Police also collected eight 9-mm shell casings at the scene, a skateboard and later a lead bullet that had hit a nearby building.
