Tukwila, Wash. – A navy decide imposed a life sentence for a soldier of the Lewis-Mcchord joint base who admitted to having killed a taxi driver in Tukwila final 12 months.
In a martial courtroom on Wednesday, Jonathan Kang Lee, 26, declared himself responsible of homicide, desertion, arrest resistance and never obeying a authorized order.
The sentence presents the potential of probation, though he may even must serve a sentence of 64 years for a previous conviction within the Army Court docket for kids’s sexual crimes.
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In keeping with prosecutors, Lee murdered taxi driver Nicholas Hokema, 25, from Tumwater, whereas fleeing from the bottom on the eve of his trial for the positions of kid sexual abuse in January 2024.
Lee had issues for the automotive whereas fleeing from the bottom, which led him to name a taxi, based on the statements made within the courtroom.
Hokema took Lee to the SouthCenter buying heart in Tukwila, the place there was a dispute on the taxi fee, Lee mentioned throughout his sentence listening to. Lee admitted that he stabbed Hokema repeatedly after which left his physique within the parking zone.
Police arrested Lee days later in Redmond.
“Whereas nothing that the courtroom can do will deliver Mr. Hokema again, hopefully this prayer will enable some closure to his family and friends,” mentioned Lieutenant Colonel Sean Fitzgibbon, Circuit Chief, Sixth Circuit, Workplace of the Military of Advisor of Particular Locia. “This might not have been doable with out the super work of the Tukwila Police Division and the Legal Investigation Division of the Military Division.”
Lee might be confined in the USA disciplinary barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. It won’t be eligible for probation till not less than 2045, based on military prosecutors.