Airman Sentenced To Death In Guam -- Defendant Found Guilty In Robbery-Killing Of Sergeant From Renton

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - A senior airman was unanimously sentenced to death today by an Air Force court-martial panel for the slaying of a Renton man.

Jose Simoy, 28, of Guam was convicted Saturday of felony murder in the beating death last December of Sgt. Stacy Levay, 29.

Simoy's death sentence must go through several levels of review including, if necessary, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Simoy was also convicted of attempted murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. He pleaded guilty to desertion.

Levay, like Simoy a law-enforcement specialist, was escorting a commissary clerk with $74,000 to the night depository on the air base when he was attacked by five men, according to testimony.

Simoy was the mastermind of the robbery and driver of the getaway car, according to testimony.

The eight-member court-martial panel reduced Simoy's rank to airman and stripped him of pay and allowances.

He will be kept in custody in Guam until a final decision is made on where he will be held during appeals.

Simoy's brother, Dennis, has been convicted in U.S. District Court of felony murder, attempted murder, robbery and assault in the killing. Joseph Wolford pleaded guilty to robbery under a plea agreement. Both are to be sentenced next month.

The two other suspects reportedly have fled Guam.

It is believed to be the first time the death penalty has been invoked for at least 30 years in Guam, a U.S. territorial island 3,700 miles west of Hawaii.