Thurston County jurors found Shane Brewer guilty of the first-degree murder of Loren VerValen and also convicted him on other charges at the conclusion of his retrial on April 29.
The court imposed a sentence of 788 months, plus 240 months based on the jury’s determination that Brewer was armed with a firearm during the murder and related robbery of VerValen. Brewer has been sentenced to a total of 85 years.
Brewer was also sentenced for several crimes related to an earlier crime; burglarizing a Big 5 Sporting Goods store, where several rifles were stolen, including the murder weapon which was used on VerValen.
Following the Thurston County Sherriff’s Office’s arrest of Brewer in December of 2018, he was charged by the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree and burglary in the first degree while armed with a firearm.
The jury in a 2020 Thurston County Superior Court trial found Brewer guilty of first-degree burglary, four counts of theft of a firearm, three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, second-degree malicious mischief, and possession of a stolen vehicle, but could not reach a unanimous decision regarding the charges of murder and robbery.
On April 29, 2021, a separate Thurston County Superior Court jury found Brewer guilty of the remaining charges.
Thurston County Prosecutor Jon Tunheim released a statement following Brewer’s sentencing:
“This process has been difficult for Loren’s family, and while they will never have him back, the sentence ordered by the court today serves as some measure of closure and justice,” Tunheim said.
Brewer will be transferred to the Washington State Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.
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