Man sentenced to 10 years in prison for death of Everett firefighter

EVERETT — A Snohomish County judge sentenced a man to 10 years in prison and parole for the rest of his life for the killing of an Everett firefighter 34 years ago.

Time stopped for the family of Everett firefighter Gary Parks on February 16, 1987, when Elmer Nash Jr., now 47, set fire to the Everett Community College library to cover up a burglary, KING5 reported.

Nash was 12-years-old at the time and went on to become a career criminal racking up 11 felony convictions as an adult along with 58 misdemeanors. He added one more misdemeanor last week when he failed to appear for his sentencing.

Instead, he was picked up by police, high, in Kent.

Nash attempted to apologize to the Parks family saying, “I’m sorry for your loss. I wish I could bring him back, but I can’t,” before starting to cry.

While he was a child at the time of the killing, Nash was tried as an adult.

In exchange for a guilty plea prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to a sentence of just under three and a half years. After Nash’s no-show at his original sentencing, prosecutors tacked nine more months onto their request.

But Judge David Kurtz decided that was not adequate, given Nash’s life of crime.

“This is a grown man who has not grown up,” said Kurtz.