Manslaughter suspect sentenced to 90 months
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, July 16, 2019
PORT ORCHARD — A 23-year-old man who was taken into custody in November for the manslaughter death of his Port Orchard girlfriend was sentenced last month by a Kitsap County Superior Court judge to 90 months behind bars.
Joseph Anthony Armas later told investigators he accidentally shot Ashlee McClelland, 20, at her Port Orchard apartment while unloading a stolen rifle Nov. 4.
Armas, who has a criminal past, previously was sentenced for fourth-degree domestic violence in Thurston County, according to court records. Kitsap County Superior Court Judge William C. Houser levied the 7-1/2-month sentence after a plea bargain agreement was reached between county prosecutors and Armas’s public defender.
Armas had attempted to take McClelland to Harrison Urgent Care on South Kitsap Boulevard the evening of Nov. 4 after shooting her in the chest. He was stopped by Port Orchard police officer near the location after running a stop sign. The woman later died at Tacoma General Hospital.
He was taken into custody Nov. 6 in Nisqually, Thurston County, and booked on charges of manslaughter, first-degree domestic violence and illegal possession of a firearm.
