Accused Moscow shooter John Lee accepted a plea agreement from the state March 11. Though he initially entered guilty pleas to all four charges brought against him, Judge John Stegner ultimately accepted Alford pleas, changing the initial pleas of not guilty Lee entered August 3. Lee said he decided to change his plea because his attorney Charles Kovis advised him that pleading guilty was his best option.
By entering Alford pleas, Lee does not plead guilty but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict him without a reasonable doubt. The Alford pleas were brought about when Lee admitted to fatally shooting three and injuring another early last year, but disagreed that the attacks were pre-meditated.
Lee
Lee faces three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery. He is accused of fatally shooting his adoptive mother, landlord and work colleague and injuring a fourth person in a rampage Jan. 10, 2015.
Kovis and Moscow attorney Deborah McCormick are representing Lee, with county prosecutors Bill Thompson and Mia Vowels representing the state.
After entering the initial guilty plea, Lee stumbled when Stegner asked if he had committed the crimes he was accused of.
“I shot four people,” Lee said. “I could tell you what happened that day. I don”t agree that I did, but it”s not what I think, it”s what everybody else does.”
Lee said leading up to the shooting, he suffered from paranoia, lack of sleep, chronic back pain and suicidal thoughts. He said on Jan. 10, 2015, he began having what he described as a panic attack.
He said that”s when he fatally shot his landlord David Trail in his office.
“I saw Dave Trail in his office,” Lee said. “I didn”t know he would be there. I saw him and I shot him, and he fell to the ground.”
He said he also shot and injured Trail”s client Michael Chin of Seattle, who was in the office at the time. Then Lee said he went on to fatally shoot Arby”s manager Belinda Niebuhr at the restaurant and his adoptive mother Terri Grzebielski at her Moscow residence.
Lee said it wasn”t until he began driving toward Pullman that he realized what he had done.
“I didn”t know what to do,” Lee said. “I drove to Pullman because I”d done that so many times.”
Following a high-speed chase, Lee said police took him into custody outside of Pullman.
Thompson said Lee”s account lined up with the state”s evidence against him.
Stegner said he hesitated to accept Lee”s plea, since Lee disagreed that the attacks had been premeditated.
“I”m not sure he understands the gravity of what he”s doing,” Stegner said, addressing Kovis.
Kovis said expert psychiatric evaluation suggested Lee suffers from schizophrenia, paranoid delusions or another psychotic disorder. However, Kovis said he did not doubt Lee”s ability to give a competent plea.
Thompson said though Lee may not agree fully with the charges brought against him, Lee”s admission of guilt was essentially to what the state was alleging. Thompson asked that Stegner consider Alford pleas.
Ultimately, Stegner said he found Lee”s pleas to be intelligent, articulate and voluntarily given. His sentencing will be held at 9 a.m. May 24. Thompson estimated it would take a half-day for all the witnesses to be heard.
The murder charges carry a possible death penalty or a minimum of 10 years in prison if convicted, and the aggravated battery charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Hannah Shirley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @itshannah7