Corey Mann gets 40 years in prison for 2013 murder of Kent woman

Published 5:07 pm Friday, April 15, 2016

Latasha Walker’s relatives erupted in cheers on Friday afternoon at a Kent courtroom when a judge gave Corey Mann the 40-year maximum prison sentence for the 2013 fatal beating of the 24-year-old woman at her Kent apartment.

“Thank you, your honor,” a relative said.

Mann, 28, on the other side of the courtroom glass divider from Walker’s relatives, quickly jumped to his feet in anger as King County Superior Court Judge Veronica Alicea Galvan issued the first-degree murder sentence at the Maleng Regional Justice Center.

“My decision isn’t just a sentence to you Mr. Mann, it’s a sentence for the Walker family and a sentence for your family,” Galvan said. “Just as Mr. (Cedric) Walker won’t be able to walk his daughter down the aisle, neither shall you. Just like he will not see the births of his grandchildren, you unlikely will not see the birth of your grandchildren.

“What was done in this case – and looking at your history – I wonder would your life had been different if you had a family like this (Walker’s) that supported you? Would your life had been different? Would you have made different decisions? … I can’t pretend to know how difficult your childhood was. But there comes a time in everybody’s life where you either define your circumstances or you allow yourself to be defined by them.

“But you have taken what you deemed to be the easy path. A path of greed and a path that has led to this.”

Earlier on Friday, Galvan gave Gary Sanders a minimum sentence of 20 years for first-degree murder for his role in Walker’s death. A jury last month convicted both men of murder. Sanders had no prior criminal record while Mann had a lengthy one.

Judge Laura Middaugh sentenced two other co-defendants last month for their involvement in the murder. Michael Galloway, 33, received 12 years and Tiana Wood-Sims 14 years. Both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and testified at the trial of Mann and Sanders.

Kent Police found Walker unconscious on her bedroom floor on June 3, 2013 at the Somerset Apartments, 25216 110th Ave. S.E.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Walker died from numerous liver lacerations and large amounts of blood in her chest cavity, consistent with some type of blunt force trauma. Walker was found in a fetal position, with a belt around her neck, according to charging papers. Walker was unresponsive and declared dead later that night at Valley Medical Center in Renton.

Several family members of Walker addressed the court and asked for the maximum sentence for Mann and Sanders.

“You took my daughter away, my baby,” Cedric Walker said as he held up a large poster filled with photos of Latasha. “There’s no way my baby should be in that casket. … I can’t believe this is really happening. She was an angel. She wouldn’t do nothing to hurt nobody. And then she gets hurt.”

Cedric Walker said his life hasn’t been the same since that fateful day nearly three years ago.

“When she died that day, I wanted to die, too,” he said. “I feel like I’m dead right now. … I’ve got to put this in God’s hands. But I just don’t know what to do. I want to hug her. I want to hear her voice again. I want to hear her laugh.”

Jackie Hamilton, the mother of Latasha Walker, also spoke directly to Mann.

“You’re an evil man,” she said. “You deserve to be in prison the rest of your life.”

No relatives or friends showed up in court to speak in support of Mann or Sanders.

The two men plus Wood-Sims and Galloway organized the invasion of Walker’s apartment in search of cash and pills but ended up leaving with only electronics, according to prosecutors.

Detectives arrested Galloway in October 2013 and tracked down the other three in 2014. Galloway admitted to detectives that he traveled with Mann and Sanders to Kent to rob Walker. He said one of the other men told them Walker had large sums of cash and pills at her apartment and that her man was in jail.

When the men went to the apartment, Galloway knocked on the door and asked to use a phone. Wood-Sims opened the door to allow the men inside.

Galloway said the other men wrestled, punched and choked Walker as he looked for the money and drugs. Galloway said he didn’t find cash or drugs but he stole Xbox games, a laptop and cellphones.

Relatives of Walker wore a variety of T-shirts with her photo and sayings in support of her. A young nephew had a shirt that read, “I will never get to know you.”

Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Adrienne Thomas McCoy sought the maximum sentence against Mann.

“He is the mastermind,” McCoy said to the judge. “He and Tiana Wood-Sims (who knew Walker and helped set up the robbery) are the reason Latasha Walker is dead. Mr. Mann has a long record of violence against other people, his own family, young people and violence against peers. He began this career of violence when he was 11 years old. He’s been convicted of assault and robbery and again and again victimized people who are weaker than him – young people and women.

“He is a danger to our community and needs to receive the highest sentence because he has demonstrated what he does for his life is victimize others. I am urging this court to protect this community from further violence from Mr. Mann.”