Former prosecutor guilty in shooting of rival attorney

A King County Superior Court jury took just a half-hour this morning to convict William Joice of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of a rival attorney.

Joice, a former Snohomish County prosecutor, faces at least 20 years in prison for shooting Kevin Jung in the head outside Jung's Bellevue office Nov. 3, 2004. Jung suffered severe brain damage, can't speak and will never fully recover.

Joice and Jung had been representing couples on opposite sides of a legal dispute over a Lynnwood gift-shop franchise. Joice testified during the two-week trial that he fell behind in the case and Jung showed him up in court several times.

Joice said he just wanted to hit Jung in the arm or shoulder, to give himself a chance to catch up in the case. Joice's attorneys did not dispute the shooting but tried unsuccessfully to convince jurors that Joice was guilty of a less serious charge, such as attempted second-degree murder.

County prosecutors argued that Joice was lying in court about his intentions and had planned for several months to murder his legal rival. He equipped his handgun with a homemade silencer, wore a bulletproof vest and fake beard, and shot Jung when he knew Jung would be on his way to a hearing in the gift-shop case.

Jurors were to decide this afternoon whether Joice's crime included "exceptional" factors that could increase his prison sentence. Prosecutors asked the jury to take into account the severity of Jung's injuries and the detailed planning Joice put into the crime.