Everett Man Pleads Guilty Of Murder Attempt, Assault

EVERETT - An Everett man who shot at an Everett police officer and wounded a teenage boy this summer in separate incidents pleaded guilty yesterday to attempted murder and assault.

Todd Arthur Gilbertson, 21, now faces between 22 and 30 years in prison when he is sentenced next month. Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Michael Magee said he would recommend the lower sentence.

Gilbertson had an apparent fixation on killing a police officer, and one Everett police officer in particular. On July 11, he fired a gun at a passing patrol car, apparently from his apartment. The bullet struck the trunk, but the officer was not injured.

A day earlier, a 16-year-old boy climbing inside a building under construction near the same location was shot in the leg but was not seriously wounded.

Gilbertson said he had fired at the officer in an attempt to draw police to the area so he could take a shot at the officer he disliked.

The man has been in and out of mental institutions throughout much of his life and has a history of setting fires and killing animals, Magee said.

Gilbertson told the judge he would end up in prison one day, anyway, so he was pleading guilty to get it over with, Magee said.