20-year-old Finley man sentenced to 94 years for ‘execution’

DeShawn Anderson insisted Monday he did not fire the shots that killed a 22-year-old Pasco man in December 2014.

But Judge Alex Ekstrom said the evidence was clear that twice he shot into cars — leaving a young father dead and four other men wounded.

It is a sobering fact that Anderson likely will spend the rest of his life behind bars, Ekstrom acknowledged. But the punishment is appropriate considering the victims did absolutely nothing to Anderson before he shot them, said the judge.

“This wasn’t a gunfight, it was an execution,” Ekstrom said.

Anderson, 20, was ordered to serve 93 years and 10 months in prison. It was the term recommended by prosecutors.

The sentence includes a mandatory minimum term of 65 years for the gun enhancements, which means Anderson won’t begin receiving good time credit until that is served.

Both he and his parents on Monday asked the judge for mercy.

“This has been a long, drug-out situation, and assumptions have been made, and people have said a lot of things,” Anderson said. “I would just like them to know that I do have remorse for people who were hurt in this whole situation.”

“I would just ask that they would forgive me and not hate me because at the end of the day I know that I never killed nobody,” he added. “My hands have not killed anybody.”

Anderson was convicted last month by a Franklin County Superior Court jury of first-degree murder, four counts of first-degree assault and two counts of first-degree gun possession.

The murder and each of the assaults must be served back-to-back under Washington law, which gave the Finley man a standard range of 84 years and two months to 102 years.

Anderson was one of two gunmen who fired 21 shots in November 2014 at a parked car with four men inside. Three men received serious injuries and the fourth was grazed by a bullet.

The following night, a car with Anderson’s friend Anthony Guerrero, Anderson’s cousin and another man was riddled with gunfire.

Guerrero, 20, died hours later from his wounds. No one has been charged yet with that fatal shooting.

Two weeks later, Anderson retaliated for Guerrero’s death by killing Lorenzo “Richie” Fernandez Jr. as he sat in his car at the Stonegate Apartments on Road 68.

Deputy Prosecutor Brian Hultgrenn said it takes “a particularly cold-blooded type of individual” to successfully carry out an ambush killing.

Fernandez reportedly was targeted because he is affiliated with the gang that is believed to have killed Guerrero.

“Evidence shows that (Fernandez) here was tricked, and that he was tricked into his own execution because he was part of a group and labeled an enemy. Not because he was part of the earlier retaliation, but because he was part of a group,” said Ekstrom.

The judge noted that substantial planning went into luring Fernandez to his death, including waiting at the apartment complex until the victim drove in.

Juana Fernandez said Monday that Anderson not only took her brother’s life, he took her family’s too.

“My family is not the same. They’ll never be the same,” she said while choking back tears. “My parents are sick every day. … My dad was a strong man, a working man, and now he’s always sick. I’ve never seen my dad like this and it’s hard.”

Richie Fernandez left behind a 5-year-old daughter. She has been asking if she needs to die young to see her dad again, Juana Fernandez said.

Consuelo Valdivia wrote a letter to the court explaining how her world fell apart after learning that her only son had been killed.

“I wanted to die with him. My life felt empty as everything was over — my illusions, my happiness, the feelings to continue living stayed inside my broken heart,” the mother wrote. “Now I have a void in my heart that to this day I still cannot fill.”

Valdivia added that her son “finally had reached a time in his life when he chose to step away from the gangs to change his lifestyle.”

Defense attorney Shelley Ajax reminded the court that her client is “barely an adult” and ultimately will spend the rest of his life in prison. She did not recommend a specific sentence, but left it up to the judge.

Anderson was offered a plea deal that would have brought a recommended 30-year sentence for the murder. The assault cases would have been dismissed.

He was expected to plead guilty at a March hearing, then changed his mind that morning and rejected the offer.

Anderson, who was 18 at the time of his arrest, has prior felony convictions as a juvenile for assault, residential burglary, custodial assault, unlawful gun possession, possessing a stolen vehicle and attempting to elude police.

Anderson filed a notice that he intends to appeal the guilty verdicts.

Cheryl Lalicker said she is not blinded by her son’s actions, but loves him unconditionally.

“In my heart, I do not believe that he is the one who shot Richie,” she said. “My prayers go out to Richie’s family and friends. I can’t imagine their pain and suffering.”

Anderson’s father, Michael, told the court that “all this stuff could have been avoided” and he’s still trying to piece together exactly what happened in late 2014.

Michael Anderson said he thinks his son was traumatized by someone pointing a gun at him and snapped.

“All this is stupid, that’s why I don’t believe in gangs,” he said. “If anybody out here can understand what I’m saying, don’t run in packs with people because it only leads to trouble.”

“He’s not a bad kid. He just hung around with the wrong people and things spiraled out of control,” he added.

Michael Anderson added that it make take some time for the truth to come out, but he believes his son was not the gunman and therefore should not spend the rest of his life in prison.

This story was originally published August 1, 2016 at 3:54 PM with the headline "20-year-old Finley man sentenced to 94 years for ‘execution’."