Jury finds man guilty of murder of Tri-Cities grandfather during botched robbery

A 42-year-old man was found guilty of killing a Kennewick grandfather in what prosecutors described as a robbery gone wrong.

A Benton County Superior Court jury took about a day to find Anthony Spearman guilty of second-degree murder and illegally possessing a gun. The verdict followed an 8-day trial.

He also was found to have used a gun during the crime, which could add years to his sentence.

Spearman was inside Leonard J. Slack’s Hood Avenue apartment on Aug. 10, 2021, when he shot the man during a struggle. The two men appeared to know each other.

Slack told a 911 dispatcher, police and his neighbor that he had been shot during a robbery, Deputy Prosecutor Kristin McRoberts told jurors during opening statements.

He was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he died from a gunshot wound to his abdomen.

It’s not clear what Spearman’s sentencing range could be. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for later this month.

Defense attorneys argued that Slack tried to attack Spearman and he was defending himself.

Spearman previously pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, but he took back the plea after it was discovered prosecutors made a mistake in the length of time he potentially faced in prison.

Since then, Spearman has had several mental health evaluations and his behavior even triggered a previous mistrial.

Botched robbery

Slack lived alone in a second-floor apartment on the 3500 block of Hood Avenue. His daughter told prosecutors that it was getting hard for him to make his way up and down the stairs without breathing heavily, McRoberts said.

While he had struggled with drug use at different points in his life, he was a loved member of their family who still had a job.

Court documents show that Spearman had his own history with drug use.

About an hour and a half before the shooting, Spearman sent messages through social media that he was looking to get a gun so he could commit a robbery, McRoberts told jurors.

While it’s not clear how he got a firearm, police believe he went to Slack’s home looking to rob him, the prosecutor said. Prosecutors say the men knew each other.

Slack’s neighbor called 911 about the fight and the gunshot, .

When officers arrived, they found Slack’s couch tipped over, a table flipped, a revolver under Slack and a machete nearby.

Slack was shot twice with the revolver and told people before he died that Spearman was trying to rob him, McRoberts said.

A later search found a pill that appeared to be fentanyl and a white powdery substance, she told the jurors.

After the shooting, Spearman sent social media messages asking for cash because he “screwed up and needed to get out of town.” Police found and arrested him two days later at the Thunderbird Motel in Pasco.

Spearman told police about going to the apartment that night and said “things got uncomfortable,” McRoberts said.

“He made some vague statements about Mr. Slack coming at him with a machete and he had a gun ... ,” McRoberts said. “He said Mr. Slack tried to hit him with the machete.”

Spearman also told officers that Slack was “some kind of sexual predator.” He told officers that he “really wanted to tell the police what happened, but he was going to get information to prove what happened first before he turned himself in.”

In a second statement to police, he claimed he didn’t bring the gun to the apartment, but instead found it there when Slack threatened him.