Ronald Brady is directed to a seat in front of Judge James Lawler yesterday afternoon.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Ronald A. Brady was back in Lewis County briefly, in the midst of his prison term for shooting an unarmed suspected burglar outside his Onalaska house three years ago.
Brady lost his appeal of his second-degree manslaughter conviction and prosecutors had him transported to Chehalis yesterday in connection with collecting $96, the state’s cost of responding to his appeal.
Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh said Brady didn’t sign the paperwork or respond to any correspondence about it sent to him so she had him brought before a judge.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler asked Brady about his objection, when he indicated he didn’t want to sign anything without consulting an attorney.
“I’m not a lawyer and I have no idea if I’ve given up any rights unless I check,” Brady said.
The brief interaction took place at 4 p.m., when a handful of newly arrested individuals were making their first appearance before a judge. Defense attorney Brian Gerhart who was there to represent them, consulted briefly with Brady inside the courtroom ahead of time.
Brady indicated he has contacted another attorney about another issue on the appeal.
Judge Lawler said he noted the objection, and signed the order to amend the judgement and sentence.
The amount was added to his $1,000 fine and $1,147 in other fees already imposed.
The 60-year-old was convicted by a jury in the summer of 2011 in the death of 56-year-old Thomas McKenzie of Morton. He was given a sentence of five years and three months.
The case generated strong opinions on both sides. Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield didn’t arrest Brady, saying he thought the shooting was justified. When prosecutors subsequently filed charges, they argued the act was intentional and premeditated.
Brady appealed on several grounds, including contending the trial court erred when it refused to allow testimony to prove McKenzie and his wife were at his property to steal and didn’t allow the jury to consider a right to resist the commission of a felony.
The appeals court said the only crime being committed at the time he opened fire with a .22 rifle was criminal trespass.
The panel of three judges this past April upheld the conviction and this fall, the Washington Supreme Court denied his petition for review.
The Onalaska man is housed at Cedar Creek Corrections Center, a minimum security facility near Littlerock.
•••
For background, read “Breaking news: Onalaska man gets five years for shooting suspected burglar” from Wednesday July 6 2011, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Brady is a cold blooded murderer, no if’s, and’s or buts about it.
One thing we do agree on is Hunt as a Prosecutor and Judge.The Integrity is lacking.
Know it All
Apparently intelligent debate on focal points of fact are scarce on this board, so for the sake of drilling home the obvious lets recap.. Brady, on vacation at resort in Cedar Creek, found at least partially guilty of murder. Victim, Mckenzie, white male, tilted halo, deceased by unlawful discharge of unregistered rifle by Brady, a sixty- something Adam Lanza. I suppose we should be grateful for the wheels of justice however slow and imperfect, that at the minimum decided Brady broke some laws. At least one more dangerous, unpredictable, unstable, and violent offender is off the streets and no longer able to own, reside in the same house as, or operate a firearm through his own display of cognitive thinking and mature reasoning and or lack thereof. That, at the very least is some semblance of moral victory. Now come forth the blatantly blind and contemptuous slings and arrows of Bradys ignorant and pitiful support system, still mired in the resentment of proven facts in a court of law in the great state of Washington. Get it together ladies, can’t the three or four of you reason collectively to figure this all out. Surely ONE of you can read. Ignorance defined is a lack of knowledge, so get some. I left seems to quote, at best some b rate crime drama in context skewed to fit their personal agenda, not points of facts in law or in official review of transcribed minutes. What planet I left hails from are unknown but the observed elements of his arguments suggests nothing more than an housebound slacker living in moms basement pounding away at themselves to internet cartoon porn and easter pictures of their mothers…but I digress…Please, some intelligent response as to how this was not a premeditated murder should be warranted. as to the gene pool reference, why don’t you ask your wife?
One thing we can see for sure is the extremely low intelligence level of the members of the McKenzie family, like John. I get it, your family is above the law and all decency. You can do anything you like to anyone and anyone who objects is in the wrong.
Thomas McKenzie was not there to borrow a cup of sugar or use the telephone because his car broke down. He was there to steal, plain and simple. He got what he deserved. Justice was not done in the wrongful conviction of Ron Brady. But then, justice is rarely done in Nelson Hunt’s courtroom.
outlander says: Thursday, December 26, 2013 at 2:52 pm: “Pre Clinton, their is know point in arguing with you. I no your to smart”
I think means….
“Pre Clinton, there is no point in arguing with you. I know you are too smart.”
Correctly translated???
Pre Clinton, their is know point in arguing with you. I no your to smart
OUTLANDER. sounds like your in lala land
This “Distgusted ” looks to me like a new poster, not the same style of posts as earlier this year….maybe the other poster is “Disgusted”?
Brady was” laying in wait.” Admitted himself. He even told neighbors he was going to shoot someone that night. He went to the unoccupied home sat in the dark and waited to kill! He took the law into his own hands. Once again death is a little harsh for trespassing.
There are many unanswered questions in all of this that it is difficult to reconcile both sides quest for real justice. Mckenzie was no boy scout, although he had no remarkable criminal history his real intentions that night are not generally perceived to be pure, and this point is not in question. However, state law concerning stand your ground justification is very clear. A reasonable person must have a valid perceived threat that would include bodily harm. There is no evidence to imply that Mckenzie was waving a weapon, approaching at speed of confrontation, or otherwise verbally assaulting Brady in a matter deemed dangerous and or threatening. All of this should be common knowledge for any responsible gun owner and the educated among us. Brady had a right to protect his property, this also is not in question and is a fundamental basis for stand your ground laws. The way the current laws are written it is illegal to shoot a robber on the way out your door with your tv simply because he has his back to you and is thereby “retreating”, and does not constitute a legitimate threat. Human life and property are exclusive from one another in the law, to separate and define the requirements to make death justifiable. Simply put, Brady had a duty to protect his life, home and property. He did not follow protocol that ensured his rights with lawful methods. Actually Brady put a face on backwards, uneducated inbred morons. Hell, it might even get him an extra chocolate milk at the Friday night prison date night/fashion show but I doubt it, he doesn’t strike me as the social type.
Really? Do you think they were there to plant flowers and cut the grass?
Stupid Observation
If Mckenzie valued his life, he wouldn’t have put himself in that situation
I Left
Talk about Hillbilly! Seems to me your opinion is Redneck and Hillbilly. This is not the Wild Wild West!!!!!
You must feel like you are Jesus Christ himself as you have decided all by yourself that Mckenzies life was worth nothing. Really?
All I can go by is what is in the record. The Court of Appeals, in their statement of the facts, said, “When one of the people in the driveway,
Thomas, turned a flashlight in Brady’s direction, Brady fired at the light, hitting Thomas in the chest. By the time the police arrived, Thomas had died.”
The Sirens article of June 24, 2011 stated, “Thomas McKenzie died at the scene; of a gunshot that passed through his chest, and through the pulmonary artery that goes to the lungs.”
Don Blair, Ron Brady’s attorney, said, “The jurors thought he (his client) made some poor decisions and that’s why they found him guilty of the least possible crime with regard to Tom.”
There was never any mention of McKenzie running away. Only that he may have been backing up.
The facts are, and everyone knows this, McKenzie and his wife were there to rob Ron Brady of his property. McKenzie and his wife were guilty of many other burglaries. Later information showed the McKenzies probably did not pose a threat of bodily harm to Mr. Brady, however, Mr. Brady had no way of knowing that.
Look at that and think; what would the verdict have been if Ron Brady had been tried under the realistic original charge of first degree manslaughter? I believe Ron Brady would have gotten the acquittal he deserved.
I stick with my opinion that Ron Brady improved the quality of life for eastern Lewis County residents that night, along with improving the gene pool. I understand certain knuckle draggers think their family comes before all else and no one has the right of self defense against a family member. Too bad they didn’t stay in hillbilly land.
I Left. A Man was shot while running away from Brady. Brady should have been convicted of Murder. Maybe you would feel differently if the life that was lost was one of yours. The loss of life was the penalty that was way to harsh. Since when did trespassing come with the death penalty? As far as the crime dropping after the Murder you better rethink that one! Do your homework! Yes the girlfriend is still out there!
Didn’t the girlfriend in the shooting survive?
your chicken
At least seven spelling, grammar and punctuation errors in one little paragraph and he calls me uneducated.
My address is well known and you are welcome to come by any time. Keep in mind, since this is a threat (which will be forwarded to the sheriff), my case for self defense will be pretty clear.
Sharyn, is his kind of comment really necessary?
I Lift,your in deniel of the true facts of the case.You must be another uneducated know it all, with know respect for human life. Give out your address, I ll pay you a visit, smart guy
Wow, someone who can’t even spell or use basic grammar calls Ron Brady stupid. Ron Brady fired in defense of his property when known criminals came to steal from him. Also, given the circumstances as Mr. Brady knew them at the time he fired, he had reason to fear for his life or safety when he fired. He was innocent, but an insane prosecutor’s office charge him anyway and then way overcharged him.
You see, when Mr. Brady refused to enter a plea to a lessor charge, deputy prosecutor Collin Hayes upped the charge to first degree murder. The manslaughter Mr. Brady was convicted of was far short of the charge before the jury. Massively overcharging Mr. Brady misled the jury and caused a verdict that never would have come about if a correct charge, like manslaughter had been brought.
Mr. Brady did the whole east end of Lewis County a favor that night, not mention doing some serious upgrading of the gene pool. Did anyone looks at the drop in crime after the shooting?
Steve Mansfield called it right, but that was when the prosecutor’s office was mismanaged under Michael Golden, before he lost re-election in a huge landslide. Mr. Golden would have said the sky was green just because the sheriff said it was blue.
Brady Doesnot have to play stupid, he is stupid, ignorant,has a low IQ, with a mental condition. Sign the document, or be escorted to the courthouse. That’s procedure. The procecuters office is only doing there job. If anyone needs ousted, it would be this incompetent Sheriff Mansfield. He has violated his oath of office, his judgement is not that of a leader of the Sheriffs Department,here or any where else. Stop feeling sorry for this idiot, Brady. He is serving less time then he deserves. The trial brought out the facts of the case, Brady shot McKenzie while he was running away from him. The courts Have did there job, Brady is where he sould be. Anyone that feels that shooting was justified, needs to read the law on justified homicide. Stop feeling sorry for Ron Brady. he is a brick short of a full load.
This does appear to be official persecution. That’s even if he was trigger happy, which seems to be in doubt. Spend several $100 to bring him to court over $98? Maybe that several $100 should be spent by taxpayers to oust the senior deputy prosecutor.