Man who killed Kennewick grandfather claimed self defense. The judge didn’t buy it

A Kennewick killer continued to claim that he was defending himself when he shot a 65-year-old grandfather inside an apartment.

But Judge Jackie Shea Brown said she didn’t believe Anthony Spearman, 42, feared for his life when he killed Leonard Slack in August 2021, and sentenced him to 34 years in prison.

“From a standpoint of what the factual information was, the self-defense claim was not credible,” Shea Brown said during a Tuesday hearing.

A jury found Spearman killed Slack in what prosecutors said was a robbery turned murder. He was convicted of second-degree murder and illegally possessing a firearm following an eight-day trial in March. They also found that he used a gun as part of the crime.

The verdict brought an end to about two years of delays that included mental health evaluations and a mistrial. All of this came after Spearman had initially pleaded guilty to manslaughter and faced a 17-year sentence.

Spearman has been in and out of trouble with the law since 1997, Deputy Prosecutor Taylor Anderson said. He faced between 30 and 38 years in prison, which included a mandatory five years in prison for using a gun in the crime.

Two of Slack’s daughters asked for the maximum possible sentence for the killer, who they said refused to take any responsibility for his actions. They expressed frustration that he would start to plead guilty, only to have the hearing canceled because he seemed mentally ill.

“You don’t deserve to walk free and you don’t deserve any more chances,” one of Slack’s daughters said. “As a matter of fact, you had been out of prison for precisely a year before you shot and killed my dad.”

Anderson asked for the 34-year sentence. She said there was no evidence showing that Spearman acted in self-defense.

“The defendant went to the victim’s house that night and took advantage of his caring nature; the fact that he would regularly help people who were struggling with active addiction, who were homeless.” Anderson said. “The defendant took advantage of that and tried to rob him.”

Spearman and his defense attorney, Nicholas Blount, argued that he was pushed into a spot where he had to defend himself.

Blount asked for an about 25-year prison sentence, pointing out that his client took the stand to say what happened in the Hood Avenue apartment. He said Spearman is the only person who would know what occurred.

He said Spearman was scared for his life that night.

“I was under great distress,” Spearman told the judge. “To me, it was self-defense.”

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, Deputy Prosecutor Kristin McRoberts said during opening statements.

While Slack 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.