This morning I am announcing the resolution of the case of State v. Roberts, the slaying of Federal Way Police Officer Patrick Maher, which occurred in August of 2003.

On the eve of trial, and in the face of our resolve to go to trial, the defendant pled guilty to our bottom line: murder in the first degree with a firearm enhancement and a sentence of nearly 32 years in prison.

By accepting this plea we forgo the possibility of a life sentence, but we have also removed a huge risk that a jury would return a verdict of murder in the second degree, which carries a standard range of only 15 to 22 years.

In arriving at this result, we consulted with all of the affected people: the family of Officer Maher, the commanders and officers of the Federal Way Police Department, and the investigative officers of the Kent Police Department. We were urged by each of them to accept this plea offer because everyone felt that a murder 2 result was simply unacceptable.

We knew from the beginning that the case was a classic case where premeditation would be the central issue.

Premeditation is defined as an act that is "thought over beforehand." The law requires the defendant to have had some time, however short, in which a design to kill was deliberately formed.

Premeditation is the essential element that distinguishes first degree murder from second degree murder. Second degree murder is intentional murder, but one that is committed impulsively, without the time to form a premeditated intent.

The facts in this case were simple:

The incident began when a young woman came up to Officer Maher at a gas station in Federal Way and asked him to break up a fight between her boyfriend and his brother, Jason Roberts.

Officer Maher separated the two brothers who were wrestling on the sidewalk outside the convenience store. He told Jason Roberts to stay put.

As the officer called on his radio for backup, Jason Roberts fled across the street. His brother and the officer gave chase and caught up to him in an enclosed fenced area. The brother tackled Roberts and the two began wrestling again.

Officer Maher tried to put handcuffs on Roberts, who used that opportunity to grab Officer Maher's gun from its safety holster.

Within seconds, Roberts fired the gun, striking Officer Maher just below his body armor. Patrick Maher later died from that single gunshot wound.

We approach a case of police officer slaying with these principles:

There is no more serious case than the killing of a police officer.

When a police officer is killed in the line of duty, there are multiple victims. An officer's death leaves so many victims in its wake:

The immediate family;
the police family;
the community at large

We ask police officers to do our toughest work, the heavy lifting that comes with an orderly society.

They bring courage, integrity and honor to work every day to help those in need of help, and to deal with the complexities of our increasingly unpredictable world.

They do it all in the name of the people of our state and our community.

That is why when a police officer is killed in the line of duty, a little bit of our community dies too.

Because of these principles, we have always treated these cases aggressively.

If the victim in this case were not a police officer, the case might well have gone forward as a second degree murder case.

But because the victim was a police officer, we filed the highest possible charge and were prepared to take it to a jury.

I did seek input from Renee Maher, Officer Maher's wife, and Amanda Maher, his daughter.

We also consulted with his police family, Chief Anne Kirkpatrick and the fine men and women who serve under her in the Federal Way Police Department.

We also consulted with the superb team of investigators from the Kent Police Department: Chief Ed Crawford, Det. Wayne Himple and Sgt. Ken Thomas.

I was also aided through this process by two of our finest deputy prosecutors, Erin Ehlert and Cheryl Snow.

My final conclusion, and our bottom line, was this: if we can achieve a sentence of more than 30 years, and remove the risk of a murder 2 sentence range, then we should accept the plea.

We cannot bring Officer Patrick Maher back, but we can honor his service and sacrifice by an aggressive prosecution and a result that seeks justice.

I would like to introduce Rene Maher, the widow of Officer Patrick Maher, who would like to make a few comments:

Dated: October 21, 2005