Fatal punch in defense of sister sends South Hill man to prison – again

A punch Joshua Shaw threw as a protective older brother proved fatal, and will cost him five years in prison.

Shaw, 28, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter Friday for the death of 37-year-old John Webber.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Phil Sorensen sentenced Shaw to five years, one month in prison. That was the high end of his sentencing range, requested by Deputy Prosecutor Jared Ausserer.

Defense attorney Laura Carnell asked for a low-end sentence of three years, 10 months.

She wrote in her sentencing memorandum that Webber had been dating Shaw’s 18-year-old sister, and she broke up with him when she left for college.

That upset Webber, who allegedly refused to leave Shaw’s sister alone, and sent her threatening messages.

And when Shaw went to confront Webber at his South Hill home April 21, the attorney said Webber was drunk.

Shaw threw the punch when he believed Webber was raising his hand to hit him with a cooking pot, Carnell said.

“It appears undisputed that Mr. Shaw only hit Mr. Webber once and that as a result of this Mr. Webber fell to the ground, hitting his head on the pavement,” Carnell wrote.

Webber later died from his injuries.

It was the second time Shaw’s actions caused an unintended death and led to a prison sentence.

He has prior convictions for vehicular assault and vehicular homicide. He pleaded guilty in 2007 for a drunken driving wreck that killed one of his friends and injured another.

He was sentenced to almost five years in prison, served his time, and since has stopped drinking, married, has two children and owns a home, Carnell said.

Staff writer Sean Robinson contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 2, 2016 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Fatal punch in defense of sister sends South Hill man to prison – again."