EVERETT, Wash — Everett Police arrested Elmer Nash, Jr., Saturday morning after issuing a warrant for first-degree murder in the 1987 death of firefighter Gary Parks.
Nash, who was 12 in 1987, already had pleaded guilty to the arson at Everett Community College that led to Parks' death, but he failed to appear to his sentencing hearing on Friday.
Nash had been due at the Snohomish County Courthouse at 1 p.m. Friday to be sentenced in the arson that killed an Everett firefighter more than three decades ago.
At the hearing on Friday, Parks' family, which has waited 34 years for justice, was left to wait a little longer.
Everett firefighter Gary Parks died Feb 16, 1987, while putting out an arson that destroyed the library at Everett Community College.
Investigators at the time suspected 12-year-old Nash but they didn't have enough evidence for an arrest.
Recently, though, an Everett police detective convinced Nash to confess. He agreed to a 3.5-year prison term.
Friday, the Parks family, along with dozens of members of their firefighting family, gathered to witness the sentencing.
As the clock approached 3 p.m., however, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge David Kurtz made an announcement.
"I thank everyone for their patience. I regret any inconvenience and stress, but the defendant, Mr. Nash, is not here."
Kathy Parks and her two daughters Erin and Jennifer had come prepared to address Nash.
Bruce Hansen came 2,600 miles from Warsaw, Indiana to do so. Parks was his mentor.
Hansen, a retired assistant fire marshal, investigated the deadly arson.
He says he even held his friend's hand one last time as the medical examiner conducted the autopsy because Kathy Parks never got to do so.
Due to the distance Hansen had traveled, Kurtz allowed him to present the testimony he hoped to say directly to Nash, but now will never have the chance.
He asked the judge to reject the plea bargain and give Nash the maximum sentence.
"This was not Gary Parks' fire. This was Elmer Nash's fire," said Hansen. "Gary Parks never made it home again. Elmer Nash has always had the chance to go home. I have no sympathy for Elmer Nash. He has never shown any remorse for setting this multimillion-dollar fire that killed Gary Parks."
Snohomish County prosecutors told KING 5 that Nash was not in custody after his guilty plea in March as part of a "complicated" plea deal. Prosecutors plan now to ask for a longer prison sentence.
Kurtz rescheduled the sentencing for Thursday, May 13 at 1 p.m.
