Edgewood resident James Sanders’ last moments alive were “a nightmare that came to life,” a Pierce County deputy prosecutor told a jury this afternoon.
Armed intruders were inside his home, terrorizing his wife and children while he lay bound and helpless on his kitchen floor, deputy prosecutor Mary Robnett told jurors.
One of those intruders, most likely defendant Kiyoshi Higashi, shot Sanders three times when the 43-year-old man broke free of the plastic ties used to bind him, Robnett said during her opening statement in Higashi’s first-degree murder trial.
“He was murdered in cold blood, in his own home, in front of his wife who’d been tied up and beaten and in front of his children who’d been held at gunpoint and terrorized,” the deputy prosecutor said.
Higashi, 23, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree assault and one count of first-degree burglary.
He is the first of four defendants to go to trial in the case, which drew national attention.
Prosecutors contend Higashi and three others went to Sanders’ home April 28, 2010, intent on robbing him. They allegedly picked his house after seeing a ring and other jewelry he’d advertised on Craigslist, according to court records.
Higashi has admitted taking part in the robbery but denied shooting Sanders. He blames one of the other people who were with him that night.
His defense attorney, Michael Jordan, did not make an opening statement today. Jordan reserved his right to make an opening statement when the defense begins its case.
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