State Of Washington v. Joshua Lambert, 199 Wash. App. 51

Background

On October 3, 2011, Joshua Lambert (a methamphetamine user with prior convictions) stabbed and murdered two elderly relatives (his paternal grandfather George Lambert at his home and his maternal grandfather August Eisner in a driveway), tied up his great-aunt Kay Gage, and stole a car and firearms or attempted to do so. He was arrested the same day with drug paraphernalia and white powder on his person.
The State prosecuted Lambert on multiple counts: two counts of first-degree murder (premeditated and felony murder predicated on first-degree burglary), three counts of first-degree burglary (including the two residences), first-degree kidnapping, second-degree motor vehicle theft, and unlawful possession of a firearm; deadly-weapon and aggravating-factor allegations were submitted to the jury.
Lambert proceeded pro se after a colloquy; standby counsel was appointed. He pursued an insanity defense; the court ordered competency evaluations (doctors found competence and evidence of malingering), heard expert testimony for both sides, and denied Lambert's motion for acquittal by reason of insanity.
The jury was instructed that first-degree murder could be proven either by premeditated intent or by causing death during/in furtherance of/flight from first-degree burglary, and need not be unanimous as to which alternative means it found if each alternative was supported by sufficient evidence.
The jury found Lambert guilty on the charged counts and returned special verdicts finding he was armed with a deadly weapon; the trial court imposed an exceptional sentence of 1,200 months.

Issues

Issue	State's Argument	Lambert's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for felony murder predicated on burglary (George)	Evidence showed Lambert entered with intent to steal guns, locked door, had knife open, assaulted and killed George during the intrusion — burglary preceded/kindled the killing	Lambert argued he was invited in by Gage and therefore did not enter or remain unlawfully; and that killing wasn’t "in the course of" burglary	Affirmed: sufficient evidence supports burglary predicate and felony murder for George (invitation revoked when attack began; burglary began before murder)
Sufficiency of evidence for felony murder predicated on burglary (Eisner)	State argued Lambert entered/ searched house and then confronted Eisner, stabbing him after Eisner refused garage keys — burglary of Hastie Lake residence supported	Lambert argued Eisner was killed in the driveway, not while entering/remaining in or in immediate flight from the Hastie Lake residence, so burglary predicate not proved for that murder	Reversed: insufficient evidence that Eisner’s murder occurred in the course of or immediate flight from the Hastie Lake residence burglary; felony-murder and that burglary conviction reversed and dismissed (State may retry narrower counts)
Jury unanimity re: alternative means (murder/burglary)	Where sufficient evidence supports each alternative means, unanimity as to means is not required	Where insufficient evidence supports one alternative and jury was not instructed to be unanimous on the other, unanimity violation	Applied controlling principles: because one alternative (assault or deadly-weapon prong) lacked evidence for the Hastie Lake burglary/murder, verdicts relying on unspecified alternatives could not stand for Eisner count; other convictions where both alternatives had support were okay
Forfeiture of right to self-representation	Court argued Lambert repeatedly engaged in disruptive, contemptuous behavior after warnings, and that termination of pro se status was warranted to preserve orderly trial	Lambert argued loss of right to self-representation was improper and prejudicial	Affirmed: trial court did not abuse discretion in terminating Lambert’s pro se status due to repeated disruptive conduct after multiple admonitions

Key Cases Cited

State v. Fortune, 128 Wn.2d 464 (Wash. 1996) (premeditated murder and felony murder are alternative means of first-degree murder)
State v. Collins, 110 Wn.2d 253 (Wash. 1988) (an invitation to enter may be limited in purpose/place/time and revoked; license to remain can be inferred revoked when defendant exceeds scope)
State v. Hacheney, 160 Wn.2d 503 (Wash. 2007) (for murder to be "in the course of" a predicate felony, the predicate must begin before the killing)
State v. Williams, 136 Wn. App. 486 (Wash. Ct. App. 2007) (burglary in the first degree is an alternative-means crime; deadly-weapon and assault prongs)
State v. Irby, 187 Wn. App. 183 (Wash. Ct. App. 2015) (distinguishing cases where murder preceded or lacked evidence of burglary intent)
State v. Woodlyn, 392 P.3d 1062 (Wash. 2017) (when sufficient evidence supports each alternative means, jury unanimity as to means is not required)
State v. Elmore, 154 Wn. App. 885 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009) (burglary antimerger statute allows cumulative punishment; burglary and felony murder may both be punished)
Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (U.S. 2000) (jury must find beyond reasonable doubt every element of offense)