State Will Seek 26-Year Sentence In Revenge Killing

King County prosecutors will recommend a 26-year sentence for a Kent youth found guilty yesterday in the revenge shotgun killing of a man in a Des Moines apartment.

Richard Eric Nesbit, 17, showed no emotion as a King County jury found him guilty of the premeditated killing of Patrick Michael O'Flaherty, 23, last Aug. 17.

Nesbit, a high-school dropout, was tried as an adult after Juvenile Court authorities declined to hear the case. Jurors before Superior Court Judge Robert Dixon deliberated about three hours before reaching the verdict.

Nesbit, of Federal Way, is the third defendant convicted of first-degree murder in the O'Flaherty death.

The others are Curtis Wayne Rodgers, 38, and a teen-ager tried in Juvenile Court.

Deputy Prosecutor Denis O'Leary told jurors Nesbit was angry because of an argument he and O'Flaherty and several others had two weeks earlier about a stolen car.

After somebody pushed Nesbit's girlfriend, he swore revenge on O'Flaherty, the prosecutor said.

O'Leary said Nesbit bought a 12-gauge shotgun to kill O'Flaherty, plotted the murder with Rodgers, concealed the murder weapon with a jacket upon entering the apartment, and then shot twice.

Defense attorney Don Minor argued that Nesbit had been drinking and could not form intent to kill.

Minor said Nesbit was goaded into firing the second time when Rodgers shouted after the first round, ``That's not good enough.''

Nesbit then fired the second shot, again from four feet away.

O'Leary said Nesbit, who stalked his victim, understood the consequences of his acts, getting rid of the jacket and a bright-red 49ers cap that made him easily identifiable.

When he was arrested and advised of his rights, Nesbit told a police detective, ``Get my other partners,'' the prosecutor said.

O'Leary, who characterized Nesbit as a significant danger to the community, recommended the sentence be at the top of the standard range, in part because of the viciousness of the offense.