PORT ANGELES — Accused double murderer Patrick Boyd Drum changed his plea to guilty at a hearing Thursday afternoon at the Clallam County Courthouse.
“It was going to happen if I go to trial anyway,” said the 34-year-old Sequim man of being convicted.
Drum pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the June shooting deaths of Jerry W. Ray, 56, of Port Angeles and Gary L. Blanton Jr., 28, of Sequim, as well as one count of aggravated burglary, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.
He was scheduled to go to trial Oct. 22.
“It’s a waste of taxpayer money if I go to trial,” Drum told Clallam County Superior Court Judge George Wood.
Drum said he believed that a trial would result in a conviction.
“Why spend $2 million for something I can take care of today?”
Drum, a convicted felon, allegedly told authorities he was targeting sex offenders after a manhunt on June 3, when the bodies of the two men were found.
Drum offered the guilty plea without any plea deal, said Karen Unger, Drum’s court-appointed attorney.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly affirmed the lack of any plea deal.
“There is no offer on the table,” Kelly said.
A sentencing hearing is set for 9 a.m. Sept. 13.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge George Wood said that each count of murder carries a mandatory sentence of life without a possibility of parole.
The sentence for burglary in the first degree is between 87 and 111 months, and between 67 and 89 months for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Drum had pleaded not guilty on June 13 after Clallam County Superior Court Judge Ken Williams would not accept a guilty plea.
Williams had said that state law would not permit a guilty plea before a decision had been made on whether or not the death penalty would be sought.
Kelly decided in July not to seek the death penalty against Drum.
The aggravated portion of the burglary charge adds five years to the sentence, Wood said.
The first Unger heard of Drum’s desire to change his plea was in a letter, Unger said.
Wood asked Drum several times if he had been coerced or had received any offer in exchange for pleading guilty.
Drum said he had not been coerced or been given an offer, repeatedly affirming his decision to change his plea in a strong, clear voice, and saying that he had no reservations about the quality of his legal representation.
Wood accepted Drum’s plea, and Drum was returned to the Clallam County jail to await sentencing.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
