PORT ANGELES — A Sequim man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for first-degree attempted murder.
James Donald Luoma, 69, was sentenced Tuesday by Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden. The 240-month sentence will be followed by 36 months of community custody, according to court documents.
Luoma previously pleaded guilty to the charge relating to a shooting incident on April 27, 2022, in a Sequim manufactured home development.
The incident began when Luoma picked up a paving stone outside of the home of a neighbor with whom he sought a romantic relationship, presumably to use it to break into her house, according to a press release from Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols.
When the neighbor, who is deaf, walked out of her home, Luoma began following her and pulled out a Glock 9mm.
She pleaded with Luoma not to shoot, but Luoma fired multiple rounds as he chased her into another neighbor’s garage.
According to the Sequim Police Department probable cause statement, Luoma punched the woman multiple times in the face, kicked her and slammed her head into the floor and into a refrigerator as the two fought over the gun.
During the struggle, the gun discharged and Luoma’s thumb was shot off.
The woman threw the gun under the refrigerator and escaped to a neighbor’s home. Luoma retrieved the weapon and chased her until he encountered Sequim police officers Daniel Martinez and Christopher Wright.
The officers detained Luoma without incident and retrieved the gun.
“The Sequim Police Department (SPD) did excellent work on this case that helped us secure a guilty plea to a serious, violent offence,’” Clallam County deputy prosecuting attorney Steven Johnson said in the press release.
Sequim Police Chief Michael Hill and Sgt. Maris Larsen found a chair in Luoma’s home that was pointed at the neighbor’s home and evidence of his ownership of the gun used in the shooting. Sequim Police detectives Kindryn Leiter and Rick Larsen obtained Luoma’s confession following his discharge from a hospital.
The Washington State Patrol crime scene response team also helped with the case, the prosecuting attorney’s office said.
Luoma’s trial date was delayed a number of times, at least twice for medical evaluations.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
