Former lawyer sentenced for attack

Former lawyer William Joice meticulously planned the killing of a rival attorney but failed to fulfill his ultimate goal, a King County Superior Court judge said Friday in sentencing Joice to more than 30 years in prison — a sentence equivalent to first-degree murder.

For only the second time in her six years on the bench, Judge Julie Spector handed down an exceptional sentence, extending the time Joice will spend behind bars.

"This was not a mistake, this was not an accident, this was not a bad day," Spector said. "This was a cold, calculated, cunning murder that failed."

In December, a jury took less than 30 minutes to convict Joice of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Bellevue attorney Kevin Jung outside Jung's Bellevue office in November 2004.

It took jurors another 13 minutes to decide that Joice's planning and the severity of Jung's injuries constituted aggravating factors, giving Spector the authority to impose extra prison time.

The standard sentence for attempted first-degree murder with a firearm is 20 to 25 years. Spector sentenced Joice to nearly 32 years in prison, with credit for the 457 days he has already spent in the King County Jail.

Joice, 52, addressed Jung's family and the court before Spector sentenced him, reiterating that he only meant to wound Jung.

During his two-week trial, Joice said he shot Jung to buy time to catch up with Jung in a legal case. The two were representing couples on opposite sides of a dispute over a Lynnwood gift-shop franchise. Joice was apparently depressed and desperate to save himself financially and professionally.

"From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry for the hurt I've caused to Kevin, to you, to my family and to God himself," Joice said. "... I did not mean to kill Kevin."

Just as the jury did not buy Joice's defense, Spector too said she didn't believe Joice wasn't intent on killing Jung, a father of two and a highly respected member of the area's Korean community.

Joice rented a car, wore a disguise and a bulletproof vest, fashioned a homemade silencer and "brought a backup weapon" to Jung's office, Spector said, adding Joice then planned to use a hearing in Snohomish County Superior Court later that morning as his "perfect alibi."

Joice "even performed a dry run" a week before the shooting that has left Jung severely brain damaged and comatose with no chance for a meaningful recovery, the judge said.

"The one thing you couldn't count on was one civilian witness hearing the pop-pop-pop" from his gun, Spector told Joice. Had the witness not memorized Joice's license plate and immediately called 911, "I'd still be looking for red cars today," she said.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com