Teen Sentenced To 40 Years For Killing Motorist On Freeway

An Olympia teenager has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for killing a man during a traffic dispute on Interstate 5 at Centralia.

David Coronel-Perez, 17, was sentenced Thursday in Lewis County Superior Court. The penalty exceeds the standard-range sentence of 20 to 26 years and the 31-year term recommended by the prosecutor as part of a plea bargain.

Coronel-Perez may appeal.

He pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder in the death of Marcos Gordon Jr., 20, of Tacoma, and also to two counts of reckless endangerment.

Coronel-Perez had been scheduled to go to trial Tuesday on a charge of aggravated first-degree murder in the March 22 car-to-car shooting. Judge David Draper convened court at 7:30 p.m. Monday to accept his guilty plea.