Steven Daniel Kravetz, right, stands with attorney David Arcuri to hear the verdicts in his case.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Steven Daniel Kravetz today was found not guilty of second-degree attempted murder but guilty of first-degree assault regarding last year’s attack on Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Polly Daven inside the courthouse in Montesano when he fired twice at her with her duty weapon.
A Lewis County jury deliberated about 11 hours over two days before coming to their conclusion.
The jury also found Kravetz not guilty of first-degree assault against Grays Harbor Superior Court Judge David L. Edwards, but guilty of second-degree assault for stabbing him in the back of the neck during the same incident.
Kravetz, 35, will remain held in the Lewis County Jail for now. Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey said he wants to conduct sentencing in Grays Harbor, for the benefit of those who work in the courthouse and experienced the traumatic events of March 9 of last year.
Brosey heard the case because judges in Grays Harbor recused themselves. The trial was held in Chehalis to avoid jurors passing through the scene of the crime.
Kravetz was additionally found guilty of disarming a law enforcement officer and various aggravating factors such as being armed with a firearm and another deadly weapon, a knife, during commission of the crimes.
Grays Harbor County Prosecutor H. Steward Menefee said he’s yet to calculate the possible sentence or decide what to recommend.
Menefee said he was, to some extent, disappointed in the jury’s decision. However, as a whole, the jury understood the seriousness, he said.
Centralia defense attorney David Arcuri had told the jurors in the beginning the prosecutors would not be able to prove the intent they were suggesting.
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For background, read “Montesano courthouse shooting victim tells of looking up at her own gun” from Tuesday March 26, 2013 at 8:50 p.m., here
You actually get a longer sentence for 1st degree assault than you do for attempted murder, but stabbing someone in the neck definitely qualifies as first degree assault. So I get the impression the jury didn’t understand or didn’t think the judges injuries warranted a first degree conviction….I hate vacillating sympathetic juries. Folks, you get the justice system you deserve, and as long as you show idiots like this POS sympathy you have no one to blame but yourselves.
Wow he disarmed a uniformed law enforcement officer and used her gun to shoot her point blank. Do you think he was trying to assault her?…..hell now he was trying to kill her. Second degree assault for stabbing a judge in the neck? Wow with good time he should be free to walk amongst us in about six months.
Hopefully, Mr. Kravetz can look forward to many fun filled years as a guest of the Department of Corrections.