Tacoma teenager sees sentence reduced in fatal robbery

A decision by the Washington State Court of Appeals has saved a Tacoma teenager two decades in prison.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Brian Tollefson on Tuesday sentenced Marcus Langford to seven years, six months in prison for his role in the death of a man shot during an apparent robbery in 2012.

A different judge gave Langford 28 years after he was convicted in 2013 of first-degree murder in the death of David Watson, 45.

But in a decision issued in April, appellate judges ruled Langford, now 19, received ineffective assistance from his lawyer during his trial. They threw out his conviction and sent his case back to Pierce County for further proceedings.

Langford’s new lawyers, Jack Hill and Rob Freeby, then negotiated a plea deal with deputy prosecutor Jason Ruyf under which Langford pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.

Ruyf said in court Tuesday the deal was a “hard-won compromise,” and Hill said the result was closer to justice than Langford’s original conviction and sentence.

Langford’s co-defendant and the suspected shooter, James Stimson, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and got 20 years.

A Tacoma police investigaton showed Langford and Stimson confronted Watson on the night of Nov. 18 when he was out looking for his lost dog. Prosecutors believe Stimson shot Watson while trying to rob him.

In court on Tuesday, Langford said he felt bad for Watson’s family.

“I just want to apologize for everything I put them through,” he said.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Tacoma teenager sees sentence reduced in fatal robbery."