First officer is convicted of murder since Washington state law eased prosecution of police

A jury found a suburban Seattle police officer guilty of murder Thursday in the 2019 shooting death of a homeless man outside a convenience store, marking the first conviction under a Washington state law easing prosecution of law enforcement officers for on-duty killings.

After deliberating for three days, the jury found Auburn Police Officer Jeffrey Nelson guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree assault for shooting Jesse Sarey twice while trying to arrest him for disorderly conduct. Deliberations had been halted for several hours Wednesday after the jury sent the judge an incomplete verdict form Tuesday saying they were unable to reach an agreement on one of the charges.

The judge revealed Thursday that the verdict the jury was struggling with earlier in the week was the murder charge. They had already reached agreement on the assault charge.

Nelson was taken into custody after the hearing. He's been on paid administrative leave since the shooting in 2019. The judge set sentencing for July 16. Nelson faces up to life in prison on the murder charge and up to 25 years for first-degree assault. His lawyer said she plans to file a motion for a new trial.

Elaine Simons, who had been Sarey's foster mother, said the guilty verdicts provided resolution and peace for his family. Sarey was the son of survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia and became homeless after aging out of foster care, his family said.

“This has been a long five years for a semblance of justice,” she told The Associated Press. “It has set a precedent for police officers to do what is right. The citizens of Auburn can have a sense of safety.”

Auburn settled a civil rights claim by Sarey’s family for $4 million and has paid nearly $2 million more to settle other litigation over Nelson’s actions as a police officer.

Gary Damon, executive director of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, a group led by families who have lost loved ones to police violence, said the verdict was a significant step toward greater accountability for officers. Leslie Cushman, who was involved in the campaign to change the state's law to make it easier to charge officers, said the trial was profoundly important.

“Had this gone the other way, we would have had a serious disillusionment,” Cushman said. “This is good news and affirming for all who stand for justice.”

The King County Prosecuting Attorney's office thanked the jury for their efforts on the case, which has gone on for more than three weeks.

“We appreciate the hard work of all parties to get to these important verdicts,” spokesman Casey McNerthney said in an email. “All along we felt this was a case that needed to be tried before a jury. Our thoughts continue to be with Mr. Sarey’s loved ones.”

Prosecutors said Nelson punched Sarey several times before shooting him in the abdomen. About three seconds later, Nelson shot Sarey in the forehead. Nelson had claimed Sarey tried to grab his gun and a knife, so he shot him in self-defense, but video showed Sarey was on the ground reclining away from Nelson after the first shot.

The case was the second to go to trial since Washington voters in 2018 removed a standard that required prosecutors to prove an officer acted with malice — a standard no other state had. Now they must show the level of force was unreasonable or unnecessary. In December, jurors acquitted three Tacoma police officers in the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis.

Nelson had responded to reports of a man throwing things at cars, kicking walls and banging on windows in a shopping area in Auburn, a city of 70,000 about 28 miles (45 kilometers) south of Seattle. Callers said the man appeared to be high or having mental health issues.

Nelson confronted Sarey in front of the store and attempted to get him into handcuffs. When Sarey resisted, Nelson tried to take Sarey down with a hip-throw and then punched him seven times. He pinned Sarey against the wall, pulled out his gun and shot him. Sarey fell to the ground.

Nelson’s gun jammed, he cleared it, looked around and then aimed at Sarey’s forehead, firing once more.

A witness, Steven Woodard, testified that after the first shot, “Mr. Sarey was ‘done,’ lying on the ground in a nonthreatening position.”

Nelson claimed Sarey tried to grab his gun, leading to the first shot. He said he believed Sarey had possession of his knife during the struggle and said he shot him in self-defense. Authorities have said the interaction lasted 67 seconds.

“Jesse Sarey died because this defendant chose to disregard his training at every step of the way,” King County Special Prosecutor Patty Eakes told the jury in her closing argument Thursday. The shooting was “unnecessary, unreasonable and unjustified,” she said.

Nelson’s attorney, Kristen Murray, told the jury officers are allowed to defend themselves.

“When Mr. Sarey went for Officer Nelson’s gun, he escalated it to a lethal encounter,” she said.

Sarey was the third person Nelson has killed in his law enforcement career. Jurors did not hear evidence about Nelson’s prior uses of deadly force.

Prior to fatally shooting Sarey, Nelson killed Isaiah Obet in 2017. Obet was acting erratically, and Nelson ordered his police dog to attack. He then shot Obet in the torso. Obet fell to the ground, and Nelson fired again, fatally shooting Obet in the head. Police said the officer’s life was in danger because Obet was high on drugs and had a knife. The city reached a settlement of $1.25 million with Obet’s family.

In 2011, Nelson fatally shot Brian Scaman, a Vietnam War veteran with mental issues and a history of felonies, after pulling Scaman’s vehicle over for a burned-out headlight. Scaman got out of his car with a knife and refused to drop it; Nelson shot him in the head. An inquest jury cleared Nelson of wrongdoing.

Jeffrey Nelson, flanked by attorneys, stands at the King County Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Wash., on Thursday, June 27, 2024. A jury found the suburban Seattle police officer guilty of murder in the 2019 shooting death of a homeless man outside a convenience store, marking the first conviction under a Washington state law easing prosecution of law enforcement officers for on-duty killings. (Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times via AP)

Jeffrey Nelson, flanked by attorneys, stands at the King County Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Wash., on Thursday, June 27, 2024. A jury found the suburban Seattle police officer guilty of murder in the 2019 shooting death of a homeless man outside a convenience store, marking the first conviction under a Washington state law easing prosecution of law enforcement officers for on-duty killings. (Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times via AP)

FILE - Auburn Police Officer Jeffrey Nelson, center, and defense attorney Tim Leary, behind, attend closing arguments, Thursday, June 20, 2024, at Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Wash. A jury found the suburban Seattle police officer guilty of murder Thursday, June 27, in the 2019 shooting death of a homeless man outside a convenience store, marking the first conviction under a Washington state law easing prosecution of law enforcement officers for on-duty killings. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP, File)

FILE - Auburn Police Officer Jeffrey Nelson, center, attends closing arguments in his trial, Thursday, June 20, 2024, at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Wash. A jury found the suburban Seattle police officer guilty of murder Thursday, June 27, in the 2019 shooting death of a homeless man outside a convenience store, marking the first conviction under a Washington state law easing prosecution of law enforcement officers for on-duty killings. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP, File)

Jeffrey Nelson awaits the jury's verdict at the King County Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Wash., on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times via AP)

Auburn Police Officer Jeffrey Nelson is taken into custody after two guilty verdicts were headed down by the jury Thursday at the King County Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Wash., on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Nelson was found guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree assault for shooting Jesse Sarey twice while trying to arrest him for disorderly conduct. (Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times via AP)

Auburn Police Officer Jeffrey Nelson, center, and defense attorney Tim Leary, behind, attend closing arguments at Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Wash., Thursday, June 20, 2024. Officer Nelson is charged with fatally shooting Jesse Sarey, 26, while attempting to arrest him for disorderly conduct on May 31, 2019. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP)

Auburn Police Officer Jeffrey Nelson, center, attends closing arguments in his trial, Thursday, June 20, 2024, at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Wash. Officer Nelson is charged with fatally shooting Jesse Sarey, 26, while attempting to arrest him for disorderly conduct on in 2019. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP)

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — The wind at Newport Country Club hasn’t been able to slow down Hiroyuki Fujita in the U.S. Senior Open.

Maybe the rain will stop him.

The Japanese Tour veteran shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to improve to 14 under in pursuit of a wire-to-wire win and his first victory on American soil. He’ll have to withstand thunderstorms forecast for the final round as well as a charge from 2019 champion Steve Stricker, who made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to shoot his third straight 66 and cut a four-stroke deficit in half.

“The conditions are supposed to be pretty bad, from what I hear, tomorrow,” Fujita said. “I don’t have a lot of distance on my club, so I’m definitely going to be in some tough spots. I’m just going to focus on the fact that I’m playing on the last day in the last group and focus on the fact that I’m lucky to be here.”

Richard Green shot 69 to sit at minus-11, with Richard Bland (69) at 9 under and Bob Estes (66) at 8 under.

Players teed off early and in threesomes from both nines on Saturday in an attempt to finish before the fog rolled in on the 7,024-yard, par-70 course on the mouth of Narragansett Bay. Tee times were moved up again for the final round on Sunday, when rain and lightning were forecast for the afternoon.

“This place is meant to be kind of firm and fast and kind of linksy in feel. If it stayed this way, a little breezy, and firmed up a little bit, it would be a really tough test tomorrow,” 2021 winner Jim Furyk said.

“If it rains quite a bit, I think you’ll see some guys who are able to score, where it’s easier to keep it on the fairway, easier to get the balls on the greens, and maybe a little less difficult,” he said. “If it’s wet, if it rains, someone will go out there and fire it.”

Fujita, who had never broken 70 on the 50-and-over tour, did it for the third day in a row while posting the only bogey-free round on Saturday. He has just one bogey in the first 54 holes and has missed just one fairway in the tournament.

“He didn’t really miss a shot all the way around. He’s very consistent,” said Stricker, who was the tournament’s runner-up in each of the last two years. “We’re going to have to go out and have a good round to try to catch him. It looks like he’s in control of what’s going on with his game and emotion.”

Fujita had three birdies on the front on Saturday to open a big lead at 14 under before making nine straight pars on the back nine.

“He just didn’t make any mistakes,” Green said. “If he plays like that tomorrow, it’s going to take a good round from the guys coming from behind to catch him. You never know in the pressure of a U.S. Open at the end of the week what might happen. But I’ll just play my game and see where it ends up.”

Stricker fell four strokes back with a bogey on the par-3 13th but then got the stroke back on No. 16. He drained a 40-foot putt on the 17th right before Fujita missed his birdie putt from about 12 feet.

Stricker, who was second by two strokes to Padraig Harrington in 2022 and one shot behind Bernhard Langer last year, has posted a 33 on all six nine-hole sides of the tournament.

“You’ve got Greenie, obviously, who’s playing great at the minute. Steve Stricker’s been there, done it," Bland said. "I don’t know too much about the guy that’s in front, but he’s pretty much had the lead all week.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The clubhouse at the Newport Country Club is visible Friday, June 28, 2024, behind a sign for the U.S. Senior Open which is being played June 27-30 in Newport, R.I. (AP Photo/Jimmy Golen)