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Plea deal angers family of victim

Attackers returned to watch man die

Thursday, February 25, 1999

By PHUONG LE Mail Author
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

A SeaTac man charged with beating a 21-year-old man and leaving him to die in a ditch is expected to plead guilty tomorrow to first-degree manslaughter in a deal the victim's mother called appalling.

Joey Levick's death in 1994 led to introduction of an unsuccessful good Samaritan bill that would have made it a crime to ignore someone who was badly hurt.

Levick was beaten into semiconsciousness and slowly drowned in a shallow pool in a drainage ditch near state Route 509 in Burien.

His assailants and others returned to the scene throughout the day, but ignored his pleas for help.

Jason Soler, 25, one of two men charged in the case, is expected to plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter and will receive a 10-year prison sentence. A felony harassment charge against him, in which he is accused of threatening the victim's mother, is expected to be dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Melva Levick, the victim's mother, said she cried when she heard the news.

"I was appalled," said Levick, whose family has lobbied hard for the good Samaritan measure, which twice passed the state House but stalled in the Senate. "This whole thing is just atrocious. He's not getting the right punishment, and that's going to stick with us for the rest of our lives. My son barely had a chance to live."

Melva Levick said Soler should be retried for second-degree murder and should receive a sentence on par with his co-defendant, who got 25 years in prison.

Both Soler and Jason Twyman of Kent were found guilty of second-degree murder in November 1994.

Twyman was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but King County Judge LeRoy McCullough overturned Soler's conviction and ordered a new trial based on trial errors in closing arguments.

"No type of punishment would ease the pain of the family's loss," said King County Prosecutors' Office spokesman Dan Donohoe. "But we believe that closure will provide certainty of punishment . . ."

Soler's lawyer, John Henry Browne, said, "It's a fair resolution from the standpoint that everyone could live with it."

Court records say Joey Levick went for drinks with Twyman and Soler, whom he had known for four years, the night of June 2, 1994. The men later drove to a party, stopping along state Route 509 near South 128th Street.

Twyman and Soler got out and beat and kicked Levick, court records say. No reason was given for the attack.

Reeling from head injuries, Levick fell into a shallow pool of water at the bottom of a ditch. He was found dead about 14 hours later.

According to court records, the assailants returned throughout the day with friends and relatives, but did nothing as Levick pleaded for help.

One of the assailant's friends apparently placed an anonymous call to 911.

Soler's lawyer said his client tried to report the incident five different times.

P-I reporter Phuong Le can be reached at 206-448-8128 or phuongle@seattle-pi.com.

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