EVERETT — Eric Lowe admitted Tuesday that his lifestyle caught up with him.
Lowe, a gang member who goes by “Icky,” has racked up a list of felonies in his young life. He’s mainly been convicted of drug and property crimes that landed him in the county jail.
But Lowe’s criminal career took a violent turn last summer when he forced his way into the apartment of a drug dealer, severely beat the man and then shot him in the back.
Lowe on Tuesday was sentenced to 53 years in prison. He’ll be 24 in January.
A Snohomish County jury last month convicted Lowe of first-degree murder for the Aug. 13, 2010 death of Alonzo Lopez-Gonzalez at the Bluffs Apartments on W. Casino Road. Lowe also was convicted of assaulting a second man in the apartment plus burglary and unlawful gun possession.
Prosecutors asked for a high-end sentence, which would have added another five years to Lowe’s prison stay.
The attack on Lopez-Gonzalez was vicious and prolonged, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Chris Dickinson said. Lowe “alone transformed what might have been a run-of-the-mill drug-related robbery into a gratuitous killing,” Dickinson wrote in court papers.
Lowe and fellow gang member Jeffrey Cleator donned masks and forced their way into the Casino Road apartment. Prosecutors alleged that the men, members of the Waco Boys gang, planned to rob Lopez-Gonzalez. He was a drug dealer who was known to keep large amounts of money in his apartment. Prosecutors allege that at one point in the attack Lopez-Gonzalez was dragged out to the second-story balcony. He either jumped or was pushed off. Once on the ground he was shot in the back.
Cleator, who ended up vomiting in his hat after the homicide, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his part in the crime. A third man is expected to be sentenced this fall. He drove Lowe and Cleator to the apartment and gave them a ride after the attack.
Several members of the Waco Boys now are behind bars. Three men were caught up in a federal drug and gun investigation and sentenced to federal lock-up. Another man was sentenced earlier this month for illegal gun possession.
Police say that with so many key members of the street gang behind bars, they haven’t seen much activity out of the remaining Waco Boys.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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