A Port Angeles man will spend more than 11 years in prison after a jury found he tried to kill another man during a confrontation that ended with a gunshot fired at a parked car.
Brian Lester, 39, was sentenced Tuesday, Jan. 20, to 138 months in prison following a jury trial in Clallam County Superior Court, according to the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office.
The sentence followed a four-day trial in early December in which a jury convicted Lester of attempted murder in the second degree and felony harassment. Jurors also found that Lester was armed with a deadly weapon during the crimes.
The case stemmed from an incident at Francis Street Park in Port Angeles, where testimony showed Michael Lynch and Dorothy Hunt-Wood, identified as Lester’s partner, were sleeping inside a Kia sedan when Lester reached through the driver’s side window and began attacking Lynch, prosecutors said.
Lynch managed to exit the vehicle and fight back. During the confrontation, Hunt-Wood testified that Lester told Lynch he was “a dead man.”
According to trial testimony, Lester then returned to his nearby Dodge Durango, retrieved a pistol, and pointed it at Lynch after Lynch fled back into the Kia. Lester fired one round, striking the vehicle’s B pillar, prosecutors said.
Lynch testified that he attempted to drive away to escape or prevent additional shots but crashed into a pole. Hearing approaching sirens, Lester retreated to his vehicle with Hunt-Wood and waited for police to arrive.
Officers with the Port Angeles Police Department arrived within minutes, secured the scene, and recovered a 9mm pistol from beneath the passenger seat, prosecutors said. Ballistics testing later matched the firearm to the bullet fired during the incident.
During the trial, prosecutors presented Facebook Messenger conversations sent less than an hour before the shooting between Lester and Hunt-Wood and between Lester and a third party. In the messages, Lester stated multiple times that he was “hunting” Lynch because he believed Hunt-Wood was having an affair, prosecutors said. In one message, Lester also said he expected to go to prison.
Prosecutors supported their case with physical evidence, scene photographs, and testimony from investigators and a ballistics expert.
At sentencing, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Roberson requested a total sentence of 150 months, citing Lester’s pursuit of Lynch and the firearm use. Defense attorney Charlie Commeree argued for a lower sentence.
Judge Brent Basden ultimately imposed 108 months for attempted murder in the second degree, a concurrent three-month sentence for felony harassment, and an additional 30 months for the deadly weapon enhancement, totaling 138 months.
The judge also ordered 36 months of community custody and required Lester to participate in domestic violence counseling. In explaining the sentence, Basden cited the seriousness of the crimes and noted that Lester had multiple opportunities to walk away before firing the gun.
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