Defendant in 2016 triple homicide near Lacey pleads guilty, gets 19 years in prison

One of two men charged in connection with a triple homicide near Lacey in 2016 has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Enrique "Ricky" Lamere, now 25, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 19 years in prison with credit for time served and three years community custody.

Lamere was accused of participating in the June 22, 2016 robbery at a trailer on the 500 block of Dutterow Road Southeast near Lacey in which four people were shot.

Three of the victims died at the scene: Terron R. McGrath, 31; Jackson L. Edens, 28; and Gerald M. Berkey, 36. The fourth victim was shot in the chest but survived, according to court documents.

Deputies found a half-pound of methamphetamine and a baseball-sized lump of black tar heroin in the trailer where McGrath and Edens lived. They also found guns and several thousand dollars in cash.

According to court documents, Lamere told investigators he went to the trailer with another man, Dugan Lawton, who intended to rob Edens, and that Lawton was the only shooter.

As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Lamere agreed to testify against Lawton in exchange for having other charges against him dismissed with prejudice.

Lawton, now 26, is scheduled to go to trial in July. He is charged with three counts of first-degree aggravated murder while armed with a firearm, one count of first-degree attempted murder while armed with a firearm, and one count of first-degree burglary while armed with a firearm.

This story was originally published April 12, 2018 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Defendant in 2016 triple homicide near Lacey pleads guilty, gets 19 years in prison."