Morfin sentenced to nearly 40 years

EPHRATA - The Sunnyside man convicted of a killing a man in

Warden will serve nearly 40 years in prison.

A jury convicted Israel Morfin, 30, of first degree murder,

unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree, possession

of marijuana and eluding police in December.

EPHRATA - The Sunnyside man convicted of a killing a man in Warden will serve nearly 40 years in prison.

A jury convicted Israel Morfin, 30, of first degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree, possession of marijuana and eluding police in December.

Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline sentenced Morfin to 39 years and eight months in prison, the maximum end of the sentencing range. Morfin faced a minimum sentence of 31 years in prison.

Sperline made the decision after prosecutors asked for an exceptional sentence above the end of the sentencing range, according to Prosecutor Angus Lee.

Morfin started searching for the victim, Manuel A. Arousa, a few days before the murder, going to the victim's step-father's house to demand $500, Prosecutor Angus Lee said during closing statements at the trial.

The day before the murder Morfin called Adrian Adame-Madrid, 20, Othello, saying he needed to go to Warden, Lee said. When they arrived in the city, Morfin stopped a woman, asking where the victim was, saying, "If you see him, tell him I have a surprise for him."

The men found Arousa and another man pulling into a driveway, and stopped the car next to them. Morfin got out of the car and cocked a gun, he said. Adame-Madrid went to the passenger's side of the car, and took the stereo from the car.

The two men walked to the back of the car to take the speakers, when Morfin said, "First one to run gets smoked," Lee said.

When Arousa replied if he had a gun he wouldn't be sitting there, Morfin shot Arousa in the back of the head, killing him, he said.

Morfin and Adame-Madrid fled the scene, Lee said. An Adams County sheriff's deputy spotted Morfin near Othello, and attempted to stop him, starting a chase, which ended when Morfin hit a spike strip near Sunnyside. During the chase, he threw a digital scale and a 10 mm semi-automatic pistol out the window, Lee said. The weapon and gun bounced off the hood of a car, hitting the guardrail and landing in the road.

Adame-Madrid pleaded guilty to robbery in the second degree for his part in the crime. He was sentenced to a year and 10 months in prison.