AUBURN, Wash. — The murder trial for Auburn Police Department officer Jeffrey Nelson begins with jury selection Monday, almost exactly five years after the death of 26-year-old Jesse Sarey.
Nelson pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and first-degree assault for allegedly shooting and killing Sarey in May 2019.
Jury selection is scheduled to start Monday. Opening statements are slated to begin in early May.
The fatal incident
Court records state that Nelson shot Sarey twice during an attempted arrest for disorderly conduct outside of an Auburn grocery store on May 31, 2019.
Several people called 911 that May evening to report a young man, later identified as Sarey, was throwing items and kicking walls and vehicles outside of Auburn businesses, documents state. Nelson contacted Sarey outside of Walgreens and believed he was on drugs, according to documents.
After a brief interaction, Sarey jaywalked through traffic across the street to the Sunshine Grocery. Court documents state that, because of Sarey’s behavior, Nelson followed him across the street in his patrol vehicle intending to arrest him for disorderly conduct.
Nelson reportedly called for backup but attempted to arrest Sarey by himself.
In the following 67 seconds, surveillance video captured a fatal struggle between Nelson and Sarey. The interaction was also captured on audio recording.
Sarey was sitting near the grocery store entrance when Nelson approached him and said he was under arrest. When Sarey did not immediately respond or put his hands behind his back, Nelson pulled Sarey to his feet and held him against a window, according to charging documents.
Nelson attempted to use a "hip throw" maneuver and knock Sarey's leg out from under him but was unsuccessful. The two continued to struggle and a witness in a nearby car got out when he reportedly saw Sarey reach for Nelson's holstered gun, documents state.
Video showed Nelson punching Sarey multiple times and pushing him up against a nearby freezer box. As they struggled, the witness picked up a closed folding knife that fell to the ground and put it on the hood of his car, documents state.
Nelson drew his gun and reportedly shot Sarey in the torso, who fell to the ground, according to charging documents.
Standing a few feet away from Sarey, Nelson cleared his jammed gun and "looked up at [the witness], looked back at Mr. Sarey, and then aimed and fired his gun at Mr. Sarey" shooting him in the head, documents state.
Sarey was a Cambodian American man experiencing homelessness, according to prosecutors and his family. A toxicology report said Sarey's blood tested positive for methamphetamine shortly after the shooting.
Sarey was unarmed during the May 2019 incident. His family said he was having a mental health crisis at the time.
Nelson provided his statement about the incident to investigators a month after the fatal shooting. Nelson alleged he saw Sarey holding the pocket knife with the blade visible and believed he was going to be stabbed, documents state. However, video experts said Nelson's statement is untrue because the knife was retrieved by the witness and placed away from the two men.
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.
The charges
In August 2020, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Nelson with second-degree murder and first-degree assault.
Nelson, now 44, was the first officer in Washington state to be charged with murder under Initiative 940. The initiative was approved by voters in 2018 and means that prosecutors no longer need to prove an officer acted with evil intent, or malice, in a charging decision.
He was expected to be the first officer to be put on trial for murder, until the death of Manuel Ellis in the custody of Tacoma police officers in March 2020. All three of the Tacoma officers, who faced murder and manslaughter charges, were acquitted by a jury in December 2023.
If a jury finds Nelson guilty, second-degree murder carries a possible sentencing range of 10 to 18 years in prison. The maximum penalty for second-degree murder is life imprisonment and a $50,000 fine. Second-degree murder is defined as when someone causes the death of another person with intent, but without premeditation, according to Washington state law.
Nelson’s pay
He has remained on paid administrative leave from the department since August 2020, when he was charged. Nelson’s salary is $110,682 annually, according to the City of Auburn.
Since being placed on leave, city officials said Nelson has earned $393,792.79.
The Auburn Police Department previously said that due to the police union contract, Nelson must remain on the payroll until a verdict is reached.
'Justice for Jesse'
Sarey's family members said the trial has been a long time coming, set back by frequent delays.
In October, Elaine Simons, Sarey's foster mother. spoke to KING 5. She said since Sarey's death, his brother and biological mother have died and that they did not get to see any kind of justice.
"We’re ready," Simons previously said about the trial, before another delay pushed it to this month. "We’re ready to go to trial and this delay has just been hard on our family."