Defendant in 2022 Bellingham homicide changes plea to guilty. Here are the plea-deal details

A Bellingham man has pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a woman two years ago in a stairwell at the 22 North complex in downtown Bellingham.

Shilo Aron Englert, 35, pleaded guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court to one count of second-degree manslaughter in a roughly 15-minute hearing Wednesday, June 12.

On Feb. 8, 2022, Englert fatally shot 31-year-old Kasaundra “Kassy” May Booker, whose family called her their “social butterfly.”

More than a dozen family members and friends packed a crowded courtroom Wednesday for the plea hearing. Family in attendance included Booker’s parents, siblings, cousins, aunts and more. Her mother, Vickie Turner, brought Booker’s ashes in a small black box that she carried with her alongside a photograph of Booker. Multiple family members cried quietly throughout the hearing.

Booker’s body was found in a first-floor stairwell at 22 North, a 40-unit apartment complex on North State Street for young adults experiencing homelessness. It is operated by the Opportunity Council and Northwest Youth Services.

A bullet of unknown caliber was found at the scene with Booker’s body, but no handgun was located, according to court records.

Booker grew up in Skagit County in the Concrete/Rockport area. She’s the youngest of four children, which includes two stepsiblings, her family said in an interview with The Bellingham Herald. The siblings are all four years apart.

“She was always so happy making people laugh,” Rachel Henry, Booker’s stepsister, said.

Growing up in the woods and playing in the creek, which her siblings jokingly called “the swamp”, is one of Henry’s favorite memories.

“Just being sisters. Fighting, that was fun too sometimes, you know,” Henry said.

“It was,” her brother, Randy Booker, said.

He also recalled his sister’s helpful nature. One time, she gave him her car and some money because she wanted to make sure he and his children were cared for, Turner, Booker’s mother, said. Her family called her “a great aunt.”

Englert was originally charged Feb. 11, 2022 with second-degree murder. He was arrested nine days later, on Feb. 20, by the Bellingham Police Department’s SWAT team in the 1400 block of Moore Street after police received a credible tip about where Englert was hiding, The Herald previously reported.

Englert has been incarcerated in the Whatcom County Jail since his Feb. 20, 2022 arrest for Booker’s killing. His bail had been set at $1 million in that case, court records show.

Englert’s murder charge was reduced as part of an agreed plea deal between the prosecution and defense that resolves not only Englert’s homicide case, but the four additional felony cases he had pending in Superior Court. All the cases stem from a roughly 10-month crime spree in which Englert was accused of stealing multiple vehicles and shooting two people, one fatally.

Englert also entered guilty pleas Wednesday in three of the four cases. The fourth case — where Englert is accused of shooting and injuring a man in the Birchwood neighborhood after the man confronted Englert about stealing items from his apartment patio — was dismissed. Whatcom County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Erik Sigmar said the victim in that case has died of a fentanyl overdose. Englert initially pleaded not guilty in all four cases.

Englert’s additional guilty pleas include:

▪ One count of possession of a stolen vehicle for a January 2022 case. His obstructing and hit and run (property damage) charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.

▪ One count of possession of a stolen vehicle for an April 2022 case. He pleaded guilty as charged in this case.

▪ One count of unlawful possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver for an August 2023 case. His failure to obey law enforcement charge was dropped as part of the plea deal.

Englert was a convicted felon at the time of the crimes and was prohibited from possessing firearms, court records show.

Englert’s sentencing hearing has been set for July 1. As part of the agreed plea deal, the prosecuting and defense attorneys are expected to recommend a prison sentence of 89 months — or seven years and five months. That recommendation is the high end of the standard sentencing range for Englert’s manslaughter charge, court documents show.

The attorneys’ recommendation will also include 1.5 years of probation and a chemical dependency evaluation and treatment.

Englert will get credit for the time he has served in custody while awaiting a resolution in his cases. He has been incarcerated since his Feb. 20, 2022 arrest for Booker’s killing, which means he will get credit for roughly 2.5 years. He will also become eligible for “good time,” meaning he could be released from prison earlier than expected, depending on his behavior while incarcerated in prison, according to court records and officials.

Unhappy resolution

Booker’s family said they’re not happy with the resolution, and they feel Booker’s life is worth more than what the attorneys are recommending.

Her stepfather, Chris Turner, who calls himself her “papa”, said the fact that Wednesday’s hearing was held and the case against Englert was moving forward was the only good thing about the situation.

Henry, Booker’s stepsister, said that the family has waited for more than two years to see a resolution in the case.

“He’s done his time if the plea goes through. And what do I feel about that? That’s absolutely a full on travesty of justice,” Vickie Turner, Booker’s mother, said. “I’m not asking for his life. I’m not asking for retribution. But (the time) is not enough.”

“These are my imaginary grandbabies,” Vickie Turner said through tears outside the courtroom, motioning to an empty space beside her. “Never going to happen.”

Booker’s father, Chris Turner, said he hopes the judge sentences Englert to the maximum time allowed. He said he was glad the plea and sentencing hearings had been split between two dates. He said had the sentencing hearing gone as planned on Wednesday, it would have felt as if the judge wasn’t looking at the full picture.

“They were acting almost like she didn’t have any family, so it didn’t matter. And here we are. We’ve been pushing this all the time; we want more out of this,” Chris Turner, who drove more than nine hours from Montana for the hearing Wednesday, said. “She’s not here, but we’re here.”

Randy Booker, her brother, said he doesn’t want the same thing to happen to another person’s family. Henry, her stepsister, noted that Englert was ineligible to possess firearms when he killed Booker.

The prosecutor is expected to ask the judge at Englert’s sentencing to require him to register as a felony firearm offender. Englert’s defense attorney is expected to argue against the registration requirement.

Booker’s mother, Vickie Turner, said she has cried almost every day since her daughter’s death nearly 2.5 years ago.

“A dog is a dog. A boy is a boy. And murder is murder. You can put another name on it, but it doesn’t change what it is,” Vickie Turner said, while holding Chris Turner’s hand. “I want justice. We all just want justice. I’m not asking for life, I’m asking for justice.”

Details at sentencing

Sigmar, the prosecuting attorney, confirmed that the sentencing portion of the hearing was pushed out several weeks in order to allow time for the judge to read through and consider the numerous victim impact statements submitted to the court.

When asked by The Herald how the attorneys reached the plea agreement that they did, and what he had to say in response to Booker’s family disapproving of the recommended sentence, Sigmar said a lot of the details needed to be withheld at this time due to Englert’s pending sentencing hearing, but are expected to be shared at that hearing. He noted the rules attorneys are required to follow regarding making pre-trial statements, and said he did not want to influence the court or public prior to sentencing.

Sigmar said Englert was charged in five felony cases. With the exception of the case that was dismissed due to the victim dying of a fentanyl overdose, and the reduction of the murder charge, Englert has pleaded almost guilty as charged in his four remaining felony cases, he said.

“He has thus far accepted responsibility for the lion’s share of the felony charges he was facing,” Sigmar said.

Sigmar said he plans to explain at Englert’s sentencing hearing how and why the attorneys felt a reduction in the murder charge was warranted.

The “plea bargaining process is not for the faint of heart, and it’s something we take very seriously and try to do the best we can to achieve the best results for victims and for the community,” Sigmar said in an interview with The Herald. “We make decisions to mitigate the risk of trial and acquittal at trial. That’s why we plea bargain. … At Englert’s sentencing, I’ll further explain how we arrived at the plea deal and why we endorse it and why we’re asking the court to follow it.”

Englert’s defense attorney, Ryan Swinburnson, who was appointed by the court at public expense, also said it was not appropriate prior to sentencing to discuss what went into the plea bargaining process and how the attorneys reached their joint recommendation.

Swinburnson, Whatcom County’s senior conflict attorney, declined to comment at this time when asked what he had to say in response to Booker’s family believing the recommended sentence was not justice. He also referred to the court rules attorneys are bound by while a case is pending.

“It’s important to focus on the upcoming sentencing. I’ll have a lot to say then,” Swinburnson said in an interview with The Herald. “I really think most of my comments at sentencing will be regarding how we arrived at the joint sentencing recommendation. I think it’s important to reserve that for that hearing.”