PORT ANGELES — Reversing himself yet again, Robert Gene Covarrubias said today he wants to plead guilty and go to prison for raping and murdering 15-year-old Melissa Leigh Carter in 2004.
“Can we proceed with sentencing?” Covarrubias said after his attorney withdrew from his case at a hearing in Clallam County Superior Court.
“I’d like to plead guilty and get sentenced.”
In a span of two weeks, Covarrubias, 28, has moved from claiming innocence to pleading guilty to asking to withdraw his plea to saying now that he committed the crime.
Before his request can be considered, Judge George L. Wood must appoint a new lawyer for him.
Ralph W. Anderson of Port Angeles withdrew as Covarrubias’ lawyer on Wednesday on ethical grounds that he said he was barred from describing.
Anderson told Wood that he had consulted with Seattle University School of Law ethics expert John Strait, who told him it was “absolutely mandatory” that he no longer represent Covarrubias.
During the court hearing on Wednesday, as Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly said she would not oppose Anderson’s request, Covarrubias blurted out that he had changed his mind again.
Anderson said in a later interview that it appeared that Covarrubias decided to change his plea on the spur of the moment.
“It was an emotional reaction to my withdrawal,” Anderson said. “We have never heard anything like that until I served him with notice.”
Wood said he would schedule a hearing for later this week to appoint Covarrubias a new lawyer to consult with him on his next move.
In a hearing Monday, Anderson had said Covarrubias wanted to change his guilty plea to not guilty, claiming he was in a depressed mental state and not taking his medication when he confessed to Port Angeles police on July 15 that he raped and murdered Carter.
Her nude body was found Dec. 26, 2004, in a brushy embankment next to the Port Angeles Waterfront Trail and east of the Red Lion Hotel.
A jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in April 2006, and he was sentenced to 34½ years, but on appeal the state Court of Appeals ordered a new trial.
Before he confessed, Covarrubias’ new trial was scheduled to begin Sept. 21.
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Staff writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
