KENT, Wash. — Auburn police officer Jeffrey Nelson was found guilty on Thursday for the murder of a 26-year-old man in 2019, a jury determining that the killing was not justified under Washington state law.
Nelson was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault in Jesse Sarey’s death. The court set Nelson's sentencing for July 16.
The jury was hung Tuesday and Judge Nicole Gaines Phelps sent the group back to deliberations. Jurors returned with a verdict on Thursday.
Nelson was attempting to arrest Sarey outside of an Auburn grocery store on May 31, 2019, when he shot him once in the abdomen and again seconds later in the head after Sarey had already hit the ground. Nelson claimed Sarey attempted to reach for his gun and the knife in his utility vest, but a witness to the scuffle picked the knife up off the ground and placed it on top of a nearby vehicle.
Jurors were deliberating based on the standard of whether a "similarly situated" reasonable officer would have made the same choices Nelson did when presented with the same situation and possessing the same foreknowledge Nelson had at the time.
It's not disputed that Nelson killed Sarey — instead, the prosecution and the defense went back and forth in front of the jury about whether the shooting itself was justified under the law.
Nelson shot Sarey twice - it was the first shot that killed Sarey and the second that prompted an additional assault charge against Nelson.
Doctors from Harborview Medical Center said he bled to death on the operating table from a laceration to his liver.
Prosecutors argued Nelson chose deadly force instead of using other tactics to subdue Sarey during the arrest in May 2019. They argued Sarey was not a threat during the confrontation and even if Sarey attempted to grab Nelson’s weapon, that action does not in itself justify deadly force.
Nelson’s defense said in closing arguments the prosecution mischaracterized the confrontation and Nelson could not have known if the knife was out of reach.
Jurors will never know Nelson’s version of events as the 12-year officer did not testify during the trial. His lawyers rested their case without presenting witnesses or evidence to the jury.
His lawyers claimed the evidence they planned to present had already come forward during the prosecution’s case.
Nelson has been on paid administrative leave since August 2020.
The City of Auburn released a statement Thursday afternoon following the guilty verdict. The city said it will start an internal investigation.
"The City of Auburn respects the verdict reached by the jury in this tragic situation," the City of Auburn said in the statement. "Now that the criminal trial has concluded, the City’s internal administrative investigation will proceed in accordance with the City’s employment policies and collective bargaining agreement. A state certification hearing by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission has been scheduled, during which the commission will decide whether Officer Nelson’s certification should be denied, suspended, or revoked.
"The City of Auburn and the City of Auburn Police Department have worked tirelessly over the years to earn and maintain the trust of our community. We work diligently to maintain professional standards for our residents and engage in ethical and equitable community policing. For those who choose to express their reactions at this trial’s conclusion, we ask that you do so peacefully and within the law."
Nelson fatally shot two other people — Isaiah Obet in June 2017 and Brian Scaman in May 2011 — during his career as an Auburn police officer. The City of Auburn settled a civil lawsuit with Obet's family for $1.25 million.
Nelson's defense indicated Thursday that they plan to request a new trial.