Richard J. F. Roth speaks to defense attorney Bob Schroeter as he is charged with murder in connection with the shooting of a 66-year-old female neighbor in Winlock
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The man arrested for allegedly fatally shooting a fellow trailer park resident in Winlock after an argument was charged with first-degree murder today.
Richard Joseph Frank Roth, 65, was brought into Lewis County Superior Court in a wheelchair this afternoon. He is accused of shooting Jackie Marie Lawyer, 66, in the neck from a distance of about three feet yesterday morning in the Frost Road Trailer Park.
First-degree murder carries a possible penalty of life in prison.
Defense attorney Bob Schroeter addressed the judge as they discussed bail.
“Clearly there will be facts before the court that will put this matter in a whole different light,” Schroeter said.
Schroeter said his client recently suffered from a significant heart problem and within the past month underwent a heart procedure in a hospital.
“My client would not be a flight risk from the jail to the next street,” Schroeter said.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steve Scott requested Roth be held on $2 million bail, because of the nature of the charge, circumstances of the incident, danger to the community and a 1968 conviction for escape.
Judge James Lawler set bail at $500,000.
Roth’s income amounts to about $850 a month from Social Security, Schroeter told the judge. His assets include a 1960 motor home valued at about $200 and a 1985 Ford van worth about $1,000, Schroeter said.
The judge found he qualified for a court-appointed attorney.
Charging documents in the case describe the most immediate dispute between the two as a confrontation yesterday in the trailer park laundry room where Lawyer called Roth a snitch, saying he told the park manager she was dumping ashes from her wood stove in the woods.
Roth reportedly told detective Bruce Kimsey yesterday he took his laundry soap back to his van and put his .22 revolver in his back pocket. When he was confronted by Lawyer again, he pulled it out, pointed it at her neck and squeezed the trigger, according to charging documents.
The charging documents also offer the following from the suspect’s interview with the detective:
When Kimsey asked Roth why he felt he needed to shoot her, Roth said he didn’t know. When Kimsey asked about Roth’s emotions when he pulled out the firearm, he said he just snapped, he’d just had enough of it, according to charging documents.
First-degree murder means the crime was intentional and premeditated.
Roth is expected back in court on Nov. 10.
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More later
For more details and photos from yesterday’s events in Winlock, scroll down to read “Woman, 66, fatally shot in Winlock trailer park, neighbor arrested” or click here
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