LACEY, Wash — Marquan Bryant received a 13-and-a-half-year sentence for killing his girlfriend, Rayandalee Perez in Lacey in 2022.
Following an emotional sentencing hearing Tuesday, Thurston County Judge John Skinder handed down the maximum sentence for the manslaughter charge. Bryant pleaded guilty earlier this month.
His defense attorney, Michael Stewart, argued the couple had been arguing and fought over the loaded gun, causing it to fire, hitting Perez in the face.
Before learning his fate, Bryant offered an apology to Perez’s family and friends, who packed the courtroom.
”My dearest apologies go out to all of Rayanalee’s family, her daughter and her friends. I know my words don’t take away the pain they feel, it doesn’t bring her back, and it may not change the way they feel about me,” said Bryant.
Several family members pleaded with the judge to hand down the maximum sentence for Bryant.
“He made the choice to pack a gun. He made the choice to not secure the gun,” said Dickie Adams, Perez’s father.
Adams told the judge people need to be held responsible for their actions.
When Martie Aarhus, one of Perez’s mothers, addressed the court, she had a message for Bryant.
"What you have taken from us is never going to heal. There's no amount of time in the world that will bring my baby back. She was my best friend,” said Aarhus.