PORT ANGELES — On the eve of jury deliberations that will determine the fate of one man, Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Shea on Wednesday pleaded for 12 jurors to find Thomas Martin Roberts guilty of aggravated first-degree murder.
As he spread autopsy photographs of deputy Wally Davis’ gunshot wound on a ledge in front of the seated jurors, Shea pointed at pictures and said:
“That’s what this case is about. That’s what it’s about.
“We have to bring some justice to this community, to that family.”
Roberts, from his seat at the defense’s table, showed no reaction to Shea’s words.
He could face life imprisonment if a jury finds him guilty.
Shea’s 30-minute speech ended an afternoon of closing arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys in the trial of Roberts, 56, charged with killing Davis on the front porch of his Ennis Creek Road home when Davis responded to a routine call there Aug. 5, 2000.
Prosecutors contend Roberts killed the deputy with premeditated intent while in a drug-induced delusion.
Defense attorneys Terry Mulligan and John Hayden say an underlying mental illness drove Roberts to shoot the deputy, and that he did not understand his actions were wrong.
A 12-person Island County jury begins making that determination today in Clallam County Superior Court.
The prosecution is not seeking the death penalty.
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