Ex-Auburn cop gets nearly 17 years in prison for 2019 murder of Jesse Sarey

A former Seattle-area cop found guilty of murder was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison on Thursday.

Jeffrey Nelson, 46, was convicted in June of second-degree murder and first-degree assault in the 2019 killing of 26-year-old Jesse Sarey.

King county superior Court Judge Nicole Gaines Phelps sentenced Nelson to 200 months and 123 months, to be served concurrently.

Nelson, formerly employed by the Auburn Police Department, was the first officer in Washington state to be charged and convicted under a new legal standard for holding cops who use deadly force accountable. Initiative 940 removed the standard of proving an officer acted with “malice” to prosecute cops who kill while on duty. His trial was marked by several delays, taking place four years after he was charged and five years after Sarey's death.

The state asked that Nelson be sentenced at the top of the standard range, 220 months for second-degree murder and 123 months for first-degree assault, amounting to just over 18 years, to run concurrently.

The defense asked that Nelson receive 78 months, or 6.5 years.

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During the sentencing hearing, Phelps heard from Sarey's two brothers, Matthew Sarey and Koleton Hart, his foster sister Amelia Dillard, and his foster mother Elaine Simons.

"He's a goofy kid, a good kid. Everybody loved him. He didn't deserve to get killed by officer Nelson," Matthew Sarey said.

He asked that Phelps give Nelson the maximum sentence.

“You, Mr. Nelson, robbed Jesse of his future,” Simons said. “I believe his mother, Kari, died of a broken heart. She saw you arrested and arraigned, but did not live to see this justice served.”

Nelson’s wife Natalie Mounts said the picture the state painted of Nelson was a lie “crafted to take down an honorable man.”

“Jeff's family needs him home," Mounts said. "Jeff needs to be home. He is my hero and my champion."

When handing down Nelson's sentences, Phelps addressed the Auburn police officers and leaders who spoke in Nelson’s defense.

“I would take your statements [as being] more credible, and I would give them more weight if you at least acknowledged that this man has a past that is not consistent with the person you saw,” Phelps said. “Not one single person did that, and the videos speak for themselves. So that tells me that the Auburn Police Department will stand by anyone and everyone, as long as they have a badge and a uniform.”

Nelson shot Sarey twice — once in the head and once fatally in the abdomen — in the parking lot of the Sunshine Grocery in Auburn as he responded to a call about Sarey behaving erratically on the premises of several businesses. Nelson's two convictions reflect each shot.

Thursday's hearing began with the defense asking that Phelps vacate the first-degree assault conviction, arguing that both shots Nelson fired into Sarey were a part of one single course of conduct and that double jeopardy should apply. The judge denied their motion.

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Following his conviction, Nelson's attorneys unsuccessfully requested a new trial based on several procedural concerns during his first trial.

During jury deliberations, dozens of fliers detailing Nelson’s two previous deadly force incidents — from 2011 and 2017 — had been found in the courthouse parking garage. Those killings, for which Nelson was never prosecuted, were excluded from evidence in his trial over Sarey’s death.

Then, the day before the jury read its verdict, a King County prosecutor reportedly overheard two jurors discussing the case in a courtroom hallway. That incident also raised questions about the integrity of the trial.

Liz Brazile and Amy Radil contributed to this report.