Convicted murderer returned to prison for Richland Starbucks threats

A transient is being returned to prison for threatening two people in a Richland Starbucks with a knife.

The 53-year-old Rory Alan Star is no stranger to the inside of a cell. He spent 14 years at McNeil Island Corrections Center after stabbing and killing a man in 1982.

Star faced a state sentencing range of one year and three months to one year and eight months based on his convictions for second-degree murder and assault in the ’80s and December’s conviction for two counts of second-degree assault.

Benton County Superior Court Judge Vic Vanderschoor split the difference between the requests by the prosecution and defense and sentenced Star to a year and five months.

Star had been living in a tent on Columbia Point last summer when he began causing problems in Richland, including lewd and disruptive behavior, said Richland police.

Richland Officer Erik Noren testified at Star’s trial that he was often “severely intoxicated” and provoking people.

Star went into the Starbucks on Oct. 19 and bought a cup of coffee. He spotted a registered nurse working on her laptop and started trying to talk to her.

She said she couldn’t understand everything he was saying and, eventually, when she didn’t respond, Star returned with a hunting knife and held it toward her face.

Officers arrived to find Star standing at the counter holding the knife in front of a barista, as well.

Star’s murder conviction involved a fight with a man in a car in December 1982 following a party. Star lunged at the victim, cutting his neck, and the man died seven days later.

Star was sentenced to 30 years in prison but served 14. The next 15 years of his life were littered with court appearances in lower courts in Western Washington, mostly on gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor charges.

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Convicted murderer returned to prison for Richland Starbucks threats."