By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
While Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield has announced his conclusion that April’s fatal shooting of a suspected burglar in Onalaska was justifiable, whether or not the man who pulled the trigger will get charged with a crime is up to the prosecutor’s office.
Lewis County Prosecutor Michael Golden said this morning it may be days, or possibly months before a decision is made.
The sheriff’s office sent the case file materials to the prosecutor’s office earlier this week.
“We hope to get through those within the next few days so we can get a preliminary determination made,” Golden said, but added a final decision could be held off until after he gets the results of an examination of Ronald Brady’s computer. And that could take several months, he said.
Thomas McKenzie, 56, of Morton, died the night of April 19 when he was shot by Brady outside Brady’s under-construction house on the 2100 block of state Route 508.
The news this week has left McKenzie’s family devastated, again, and they are anxiously waiting to see what Golden does, according to McKenzie’s younger sister.
“It’s not over yet, it’s not over,” the sister Colleen Wolczak said yesterday. “Our brother is a victim, he may not have been doing what he should have been doing, but he was an unarmed man and we love him and we miss him.”
Sheriff Mansfield’s office chose not to arrest Brady, instead passing the file to prosecutors for their review. Mansfield describes it as a case with gray areas.
“The law is based on what a reasonable person would do,” Mansfield said on Tuesday pointing to the key consideration used in making his decision.
The sheriff’s office investigation determined McKenzie had gone with his wife to the house intending to burglarize it and the homeowner reacted to protect himself.
“People have a right to protect themselves, their families, and property in a lawful manner as defined by the laws of this state,” Mansfield wrote in his announcement on Monday. “If you create or put yourself in a situation where someone has a legal right to use deadly force against you, that is a risk you take.”
Brady, 59, told sheriff’s detectives he was staying overnight at the house in case burglars from earlier in the day returned, according to the sheriff’s office.
The building has no power and has been under construction for several years, according to Mansfield. Brady stays there from time to time, but rents a home down the road, Mansfield said.
Brady said when he heard a noise, he opened the garage door and fired several shots at the tires of a truck outside, and immediately found himself with two flashlights shined in his face, the sheriff’s office reported in its news release.
Sheriff Mansfield on Tuesday offered some context that causes him to believe what Brady did next was lawful.
“Nobody had any business being out there, it’s dark out, it’s pitch black out,” Mansfield said. “And he’s out there in the middle of nowhere; he’s 59 years old.”
Mansfield focused on the moment of fear Brady said he felt when, instead of the gunshots prompting the intruders to flee, he found himself blinded by bright light coming from two different directions.
“He’s got to make a choice now, do I wait for them to shoot me?” Mansfield said.
The sheriff offered the state law (RCW 9A.16.050) that describes “Homicide is justifiable when committed either:
1. In the lawful defense of the slayer, or his or her husband, wife, parent, child, brother, or sister, or of any other person in his presence or company, when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design on the part of the person slain to commit a felony or to do some great personal injury to the slayer or to any such person, and there is imminent danger of such design being accomplished; or
2. In the actual resistance of an attempt to commit a felony upon the slayer, in his presence, or upon or in a dwelling, or other place of abode, in which he is.”
Mansfield said he doesn’t want citizens to get the idea it would be acceptable to react with deadly force if, for example, a teenager were stealing a really expensive bicycle.
“Where are you, what are the conditions,” he said should be considered. “Would a reasonable person shoot then? No.”
In Brady’s position, another individual might choose to stay inside and call 911, Mansfield said. It’s not black and white, it’s based upon what a reasonable person would do, he said.
“My personal feeling; if it’s not a threat to you or your family, you should probably think very carefully about using deadly force,” Mansfield said.
Thomas McKenzie, a mechanic by trade, leaves behind several family members in Morton, including his father, Bob McKenzie who operates Bob’s Barber Shop there. He was no longer living with his wife, his sister said.
Wolczak, who is a medical assistant near Salem, Ore., just wishes Brady would have chosen a different option.
“He could have called 911, he could have not opened the garage door,” Wolczak said. “There’s just so many other things he could have done instead of shoot our brother.”
The events that began about 9:40 p.m. are detailed further in court documents filed Monday charging McKenzie’s wife, 32-year-old Joanna McKenzie of Morton.
The sheriff’s office had arrested her on Friday for both burglary and attempted burglary, but she was charged by prosecutors only with attempted residential burglary, a felony.
The documents don’t mention Brady shooting at tires, but give the following account of what happened after the flashlights went on:
Brady said he opened fire with his .22 caliber rifle at one of the flashlights – which turned out to be held by Thomas McKenzie. Joanne McKenzie said she saw her husband try to run, but heard him yell “Ow,ow,ow” before collapsing.
Brady said he opened fire on Joanna McKenzie. She said she tried to get back in the truck to call 911, but stopped when the man began shooting at her.
She fled toward the highway and flagged down a motorist to call for help.
Joanna McKenzie told a deputy the couple was at the house with permission to take parts off a truck parked in its driveway. She said she threw away the gloves and stocking cap she was wearing.
Prosecutors say tools found inside the McKenzie’s truck included bolt cutters, prey bars, a pipe wrench and a drill.
They don’t say how many shots were fired.
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Read the charging documents for Joanna McKenzie for more details. She has not yet gone before a judge to make her plea.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter