One of five suspects in a 2017 murder in Hockinson received a 13-year sentence for a conviction of first-degree manslaughter last week.
On Aug. 26, Ashley Lorraine Barry, 33, received her sentence, having previously pleaded guilty to the charge Aug. 7. She initially faced charges including kidnapping, robbery and first- and second-degree murder, according to court documents.
Barry’s sentence was delivered in connection with the death of Raymond C. Brandon, then 34, whose body was found at a residence in the 15300 block of Northeast 172nd Avenue in April 2017.
According to court documents, Brandon and his girlfriend at the time, Allison Fields, had arrived at the 172nd Avenue home of Traci Mendez in Brush Prairie where they were ambushed by Barry and co-defendants Neil Allen Alway, John Michael West and Ashley Lorine Wideman. Brandon was taken outside by Alway and West where, according to an account by Fields, Brandon was beaten and allegedly shot.
Brandon’s death was the result of an attempt to settle a debt, according to court documents.
A victim statement from Brandon’s mother asked for the maximum sentence possible.
“The day Ray was murdered devastated us all,” the statement read, continuing that Brandon’s family was “haunted my nightmares, anxiety and depression.”
“His children are heartbroken, wishing daddy could come back,” the statement reads.
Only one of the five suspects, Alway, has not pleaded guilty. He faces eight charges including first- and second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree robbery and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, according to court documents. He has a trial set for Jan. 6.
West, Mendez and Wideman have already agreed to cooperate with prosecutors to testify in Alway’s case. Prosecutors in West’s case have recommended 18 years, Mendez faces 11 years in prison and Wideman was recommended for time served pending cooperation in the trial, according to sentencing documents.
