Joshua Vance sits with defense attorney David Arcuri as he pleads guilty to murder in Lewis County Superior Court.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Going to trial is a gamble and both sides in the Onalaska murder case in which a 25-year-old mentally disturbed man stabbed to death his sleeping father chose to cut their losses with a plea agreement.
Joshua Leroy Vance previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but this morning told a judge he was guilty.
His father, 58-year-old Terry Vance, was stabbed at least 11 times and his throat was cut the morning of March 7.
Lawyers crafted a modified set of charges so they could secure a sentence of between 25 and 30 years.
Vance, 25 years old and shackled at the waist and ankles said very little in court today, only answering Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt’s several questions.
Vance pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
“That means you thought about it for awhile and decided that’s what you were going to do?” Hunt asked.
“Yes,” Vance replied.
Instead of three counts of attempted murder, because Vance had told deputies and hospital personnel he had intended to kill the rest of his family, Vance pleaded guilty to third-degree assault.
The plea to the second count was pursuant to a doctrine referred to as “In re Barr”.
As the judge put it, he pleaded guilty to a crime he may not have committed or did not commit as part of an agreement.
Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher explained he knew he could not get a conviction on those charges because of a rule that prevents him from relying on the defendant’s confessions alone.
Had the case moved toward trial, Vance’s admissions would not have been heard by a jury and Meagher would be left with no evidence of attempted murders, Meagher said.
But Meagher wanted Vance to be held accountable for them, so offered the “In re Barr” option with third-degree assault, he said.
Meagher will be asking for 30 years in prison when Vance is sentenced the week after next.
Defense attorney David Arcuri will be asking for 25 years, he said.
A psychiatric evaluation by a doctor for the defense supported the not guilty by reason of insanity, but an examination by a doctor hired by prosecutors indicated differently, according to Arcuri.
“If both experts had agreed, we would not be doing this,” Arcuri said.
It’s all about weighing the probabilities and the potential amounts of time, Arcuri said.
His client would have been facing close to 100 years in prison if they’d gone to trial and lost, he said.
Vance was attending Centralia College in the months before the attack. He was being treated for mental health issues; his family said he’d gone off his medications because he couldn’t afford them.
His diagnosis’s in the Western State Hospital doctors’ report included psychotic disorder, major depression, amphetamine dependence and alcohol abuse.
He has been hospitalized in the past for command hallucinations to kill himself and harm others. He also has been treated for substance induced hallucinations, according to the report.
Meagher said he took that into consideration.
“Let’s face it, the guy does have psychotic tendencies,” Meagher said.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 17.
•••
For background, read “Breaking news: Plea agreement made in Onalaska murder case” from Monday October 1, 2012, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
So, defense is that “I am nuts.” But, when given a good deal by prosecutor, it’s “I am not longer nuts.” This one has a stench to it, just can’t place the odor.
I couldn’t care less
Because Nelson Hunt is a corrupt judge, just as he was a corrupt prosecutor.
It says in the Bible, “A bad tree cannot bear good fruit and must be cut down.”
Nelson Hunt’s idea of justice is based on convenience for himself and his prosecutor.
All you have to do is kiss Hunt’s ass and you’ll get a lighter sentence.
That is Lewis County justice in a nutshell.
I agree with that onyresudent. There had to have already been some sort of indicator that he was not “right” had he threatened himself or his family, and it not gone unreported?? At the first sign of threat to harm another BIG RED FLAGS should have been risen! Your right psyco is psycho. Unfortunately people only see what they want to see. The question here is why he is even being allowed a lesser plea than cold blooded murder.
a psycho is a psycho is a psycho……whatever……. he murdered his own father…. a murderer is a murderer. rot in hell josh vance. there are ways to get help with paying for meds, especially if you have all the “conditions” that josh vance has. there is always a way. the system isnt perfect, but you still have to try to use the advantages that the system gives you which josh vance clearly did not, otherwise his father would still be alive. he chose not to get help with his meds and therefore voluntarily went off of them knowing what he was capable of when he was off them. THAT MAKES HIM GUILTY NOT THE SYSTEM!!!! i know im gonna get some backlash for this comment for those who still want to claim that josh was a great guy, very well behaved, and polite. well when he gets out of prison and again cant pay for his meds, and again decides not to seek help in paying for them, you better pray its not your home hes in at the time he gets the urge to stab someone and slit their throat.
This is ridiculous! I sure hope that upon release that Jodhua is put directly into a mental health facility. Where he will have to take his medications. Will not have access to meth and can’t harm another person ever again. It’s horrible what he did. But mental illness is NOT an excuse to kill someone and never have to face life in prison! I sure hope he has to live with this and know what he did. There will be lots of reasons he can tell himself this happened, but the truth is he killed his father! There is no getting away from that wherever he goes! I hope he can come to terms with this someday. Having dealt with pretty serious “issues” myself, thankfully I never hurt anyone. And thankfully I know I need my meds or I could go back to having hallucinations, etc. someone seriously dropped the ball here. And now a family has to deal with this horrible tragedy. I hope they can get some closure from this. I don’t think he is a monster, simply went too far into a world that was not real. No one will ever know WHY he did this, except that he is mentally ill. No one will know what he was thinking when this happened. Except for him. I hope he is never on the streets again. That way there is NO way he can do something like this again. My condolences to his family, as this must be very hard to deal with.