A Vancouver man and teenage boy involved in a violent 2015 residential burglary, in which they assaulted a Buddhist nun, were sentenced Thursday in Clark County Superior Court.
Vincent R. Burnett, 30, and Roy James Thompson Jr., 16, were sentenced to 17 and 16 years, respectively, stemming from the April 29, 2015, attack at an east Vancouver home. Thompson also was sentenced in the assault of a staff member at the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center during an escape attempt in May 2015.
Both men previously entered guilty pleas. Burnett pleaded guilty to first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and unlawful imprisonment. Thompson pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, custodial assault and attempted second-degree escape, between the two cases.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Thompson, then 15, and Burnett broke into a home in the 3400 block of Northeast 138th Avenue and assaulted and robbed the 65-year-old Buddhist nun who lived there. The victim reported the crime at about 3 a.m. and was taken to a hospital and treated for head injuries. She told police that two males dressed in all-dark clothing broke into her residence and ransacked her home while looking for items.
She said the burglars bound her hands with her scarves and a suitcase strap, ordered her not to move and threatened to kill her. She began to cry, she said, and told them she had nothing for them to take, the affidavit said.
One of her assailants, later identified as Thompson, then hit her in the head with what she thought was a hammer. They took her wallet from her suitcase, which contained bank cards, foreign currency and about $200 in U.S. currency. She said they also took her two cellphones, according to court documents.
During the 3 1/2 -hour hearing Thursday, Deputy Prosecutor James Smith asked Judge Derek Vanderwood to sentence Burnett to 219 months and Thompson to 238.75 months; both sentences include weapon enhancements.
Burnett’s defense attorney, Heather Carroll, argued that her client should receive a sentence below the standard range of 177 to 219 months, in part because his behavior was affected by a prior brain injury, suffered after being shot in the head. She asked that he serve a 108-month sentence.
Thompson’s defense attorney, Nick Wood, asked that his client be sentenced — within the standard range of 171.75 to 246.75 months — to 180 months. Thompson told the court his methamphetamine addiction caused his life to spiral out of control.
Both defendants read statements to the court apologizing for their actions.
The Buddhist nun also read a statement to the court in Mandarin, which was translated by an interpreter. She said the defendants had broken into her home the evening before the attack and she chased them off. They later returned in the early morning hours to carry out their crimes.
She described the attack as “extremely scary” and said she still cries daily because of it. “They never cared about human life,” she said.
The victim also read a separate statement to Thompson. “Dear child, you have goofed up your life and have to pay for it,” she said, adding that she hopes he will be able to turn his life around. “I still pray for you.”
