PORT ANGELES — Bobby Jerrel “B.J.” Smith II’s 2013 second-degree murder conviction has been upheld by the state Court of Appeals.
Smith was found guilty in the shooting death of Robert Fowler at Smith’s Port Angeles residence in June 2011.
Smith claimed he shot his next-door neighbor in self-defense because Fowler, 63, had threatened him and his daughter with a knife.
The 62-year-old is serving a 10-year, 10-month sentence at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center near Aberdeen.
Appeals court
In a Dec. 8 opinion, the appeals court held that redacted portions of Smith’s police interview were harmless to the defense, that the trial court properly admitted a detective’s statements of opinion and that retired Clallam County Superior Court Judge George L. Wood exercised proper discretion at sentencing.
Those three elements served as the basis for the appeal.
“We affirm the conviction and sentence,” state Court of Appeals Division II Chief Judge Jill Johanson wrote in a 14-page opinion.
Fowler was shot multiple times with a .45-caliber pistol in Smith’s living room June 20, 2011.
Smith fired a final shot to Fowler’s head as his neighbor lay incapacitated on the floor, Port Angeles police said.
At his October 2013 trial, Smith testified that an angry Fowler had barged into his living room and demanded money.
Fowler then grabbed a large hunting knife from a coffee table and threatened to cut Smith’s throat, according to Smith’s testimony.
Smith said that during the confrontation, Fowler headed upstairs to Smith’s daughter’s bedroom. He said Fowler posed a “deadly threat” to him and his teenage daughter.
Smith, a former Navy submariner, told police that he intended to continue shooting Fowler until the former Marine stopped moving, court papers said.
Smith testified that he was “horribly sorry that the person who was attacking me died.
“I did not want to kill him, but I had to defend myself and my daughter,” Smith said at trial.
Smith’s daughter had testified that she heard Fowler say, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please don’t,” before Smith fired the final shots.
Smith was originally charged with first-degree murder, but the jury found him guilty of the lesser offense. Second-degree murder occurs without premeditation.
In handing down the sentence in January 2014, Wood observed that there was no need for Smith to shoot Fowler in the head after he was incapacitated.
Smith will get credit for the time he served in the Clallam County jail prior to his sentencing. He must serve three years of community custody upon his release.
Firearms collection
After the sentencing, the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed a motion to forfeit Smith’s collection of 42 firearms to Port Angeles police.
The felony conviction prevents Smith from owning or possessing firearms.
The $30,000 collection includes rare-edition tributes to the D-Day invasion, Pearl Harbor, Texas Rangers and U.S. Navy.
Defense attorney Karen Unger argued that only one weapon was used in the crime and that Smith had no prior convictions.
Smith wrote in a March 25, 2014, letter from prison that police had been “anxiously drooling over my priceless, irreplaceable, museum quality, American firearm collection I’ve spent over 40 years accumulating.”
“Many have never been fired and only touched with white cotton gloves,” Smith wrote.
“One of them, only 10 were ever made.”
Judge Wood in December 2014 signed an order forfeiting six firearms — three semiautomatic rifles, a shotgun and two semiautomatic pistols, including the murder weapon — to the city of Port Angeles to be disposed of.
The other 36 firearms were to be sold to a licensed dealer, with the proceeds going to unpaid attorney’s fees and the remainder going to Smith.
The order was stayed pending the conclusion of the appeal.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
