Everett
A sentencing date has been pushed back for the 18-year-old responsible for fatally shooting a 13-year-old girl inside the Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood during 2024.
Samuel Gizaw entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder in late August, acknowledging he fired a single shot that struck Jayda Woods-Johnson as she strolled through the mall with a companion.
During a hearing Wednesday in Snohomish County Superior Court, Gizaw’s defense counsel, Bryan Hershman, requested additional time ahead of the sentencing hearing, prompting Judge Anna Alexander to grant a continuation.
“There’s a lot of layers to this onion,” Hershman remarked via Zoom.
Originally slated for Oct. 23, the sentencing now faces a new deadline after Hershman explained that recent findings from a psychological evaluation necessitate further review.
“I need to be able to advise the court that I am providing effective counsel by an appropriate analysis of the client’s past life,” Hershman stated. “The worst thing that could happen in this case is if a deficient psychological work-up were completed and it were to come back on appeal. I am terribly sorry to the family, but I must provide effective counsel.”
Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Elise Deschenes noted the victim’s family voiced strong reservations about the postponement, describing their ongoing emotional strain.
“The family shared with me that preparing for sentencing has been painful,” Deschenes said. “They are emotionally being tortured by continuing this out even further.”
While supporting the delay, Deschenes acknowledged its importance in safeguarding against future appeals.
Hershman added that a clinical specialist had recently uncovered several factors, such as repeated concussions and cognitive difficulties, that may have influenced Gizaw’s judgment at the time of the incident.
“One of the challenges in this area of law lies at the intersection of medicine, psychology, and legal criteria,” he observed.
Judge Alexander approved the continuance and indicated this would be the final adjournment in the case.
The new sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 8, 2027.
Gizaw, who was not present for Wednesday’s proceedings, faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The standard sentencing range under state guidelines falls between slightly over 10 and 18 years, with the judge retaining authority to impose an exceptional term due to Gizaw’s status as a minor at the time of the offense.