A transient man was sentenced Monday to 27 1/2 years in prison in the July 2017 fatal shooting of an acquaintance in Vancouver’s Arnold Park.
William D. Peek, 29, pleaded guilty in May in Clark County Superior Court to second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement. The prosecution and defense jointly recommended a sentence of about 25 years in prison as part of the plea agreement.
Originally, Peek faced first-degree murder in the death of Cody O’Brien, 25, of Battle Ground. In explaining his reason for the longer-than-recommended sentence, Judge Daniel Stahnke cited the vulnerability of O’Brien, who had developmental disabilities, according to O’Brien’s family, due to hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid on the brain.
O’Brien’s mother, stepmother, father and grandfather spoke at Monday’s hearing. Some family members wore Seattle Seahawks T-shirts with the phrase “For Cody” written on the back. At the end of her statement, Darla O’Brien shared photos of her son with Peek and Stahnke.
On the day of the shooting, Cody O’Brien believed he was going to help Peek with a car issue, according to O’Brien’s family.
“He was easily manipulated by people, which followed him into adulthood,” Darla O’Brien said. “William Peek figured out that he would be easy prey.”
Family members admitted, though, that they are still not sure what happened.
“We needed answers right after it happened,” Cody O’Brien’s stepmother, Kristin O’Brien, said.
Cody O’Brien went missing July 17, 2017, on his 25th birthday. He was visiting his girlfriend in Gresham, Ore., before he was reported missing to the Gresham Police Department. His body was discovered about 1 1/2 weeks later in Arnold Park. It appeared he had been dead for “an extended period of time,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.
O’Brien died from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office, which ruled his death a homicide. Bullets recovered from his body matched ones from a firearm reportedly stolen by O’Brien, the affidavit says.
After her son stopped using his cellphone, Darla O’Brien, went through his phone records and called a number that had recently sent him a text.
Peek answered and said he met with Cody O’Brien on the night of July 17 at a Vancouver park. He said they were involved in an altercation because O’Brien wanted to find a drug dealer to rob, according to the affidavit.
A mutual acquaintance of the two men told investigators that Peek said he was planning to kill O’Brien and take his car. After Peek left to meet with O’Brien, he returned about an hour later with an injury to his left eye and right knuckle, according to the affidavit.
Peek admitted to the acquaintance that he punched O’Brien and pushed him to the ground, court records say.
An unidentified witness told investigators that Peek discussed getting “revenge” on people who had jumped him. Peek reportedly said one of those people was now missing, and the witness saw the person’s body in a wooded area, according to the affidavit.
Peek was arrested about a week after O’Brien’s body was found.
Citing Facebook records, both the defense and prosecution agreed that Peek lured O’Brien, who believed he was helping a friend, to the park to exact some sort of revenge. What was not clear, however, was whether Peek or another man who was there — who died of an overdose after Peek’s arrest — shot O’Brien.
“The thought of my son being beaten and shot plays over and over in my head,” Darla O’Brien said. “My world without my son is lonely and unbearable.”
Cody O’Brien was remembered Monday as caring and kind.
“I lost a grandson, a best friend and a hunting partner,” his grandfather, George Frice, said. “I just have to ask Will, ‘Why?'”
In his statement, Peek apologized and said he was using drugs at the time.
“I am deeply sorry to the family for their loss,” Peek said. “I lost a friend out of this, too.”
Peek faced a standard sentencing range between about 21 and 29 1/2 years in prison. Stahnke said extraordinary factors did not exist to sentence Peek above that range.
Stahnke told the family before handing down his sentence that he felt their pain.
“The vulnerability of this young man was obvious to everybody,” Stahnke said. “The fact of the matter is, he was probably lured out there that day with very bad intentions.”
After the hearing, Darla O’Brien said she had mixed emotions.
“I’m glad he got a higher sentence, but it’s still not enough,” she said.
