Ex-Auburn officer convicted of murder is moved to out-of-state prison

Former Auburn Police Department officer Jeffrey Nelson, who was convicted of murder in June 2024, has been moved to a prison out of state.

According to the Washington statewide automated victim notification network (VINE), Nelson is in the Washington State Department of Corrections, but on May 1, he was moved to an out-of-state prison. Despite his status saying he’s out of state, he still remains in WSDOC custody.

According to WSDOC Deputy Communications Director Rachel Ericson, Nelson is being held on an interstate compact agreement. She said these can happen for a variety of reasons, including safety and security concerns, or the incarcerated individual may have requested a transfer that has been approved.

Ericson said that where Nelson was sent or why he was transferred out-of-state cannot be disclosed for safety and security reasons.

Ericson said that while he was in WSDOC, Nelson was housed in an Intensive Management Unit, which is a unit within restrictive housing. Ericson said people refer to this housing as solitary confinement, although the definition can be more nuanced than that. Ericson said she is unsure as to whether or not Nelson is in solitary confinement at his new facility because that is up to the policies of the jurisdiction where he’s housed.

Regarding the level of custody he is in at his new facility, Ericson said that Nelson was in maximum custody while he was with the WSDOC, but it is up to the receiving jurisdiction to house him according to their policies and procedures. However, she said that in his new jurisdiction, they cannot place him in a prison that is below medium custody without requesting authorization from Washington.

“One prison can have multiple custody levels depending on the housing unit,” Ericson said. “The custody level determines how much freedom of movement an incarcerated individual has within the prison, what type of programming is available, how many hours the incarcerated individual is allowed out of cell, and whether they must be restrained when coming out of their cell, among other criteria.”

Following a jury trial, Nelson was convicted of murder after the on-duty 2019 shooting death of Jesse Sarey. He was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison.

According to Elaine Simons, Jesse Sarey’s foster mother, she was notified that Nelson would be moving to out-of-state custody. Simons said she was not really worried when she had heard about this because the WSDOC had assured her that Nelson would be held in a prison with the highest level of security.

Simons said this update serves as a reminder of the impact of Nelson’s actions on countless lives. Simons said she would still like to receive a formal apology from the city of Auburn, and she would like to see something, such as a street sign or a bench, named after Sarey.

Simons said before the trial of Nelson, she was part of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, but due to her attending every day of the trial, she stepped down from working with that organization. Moving forward, Simons said she rejoined and will continue being an advocate.

Specifically, Simons said she is going to advocate for mental health and address how police respond to people experiencing mental issues. Simons said if there had been a mental health specialist at the scene where Sarey was shot and killed, and he got help for his mental health, his life could have turned out differently.

“He wasn’t doing anything that was harmful to other people. He was more in his own duress,” Simons said. “So perhaps at that time, if the de-escalation happened, rather than exacerbating the situation, that outcome could have been different.”

Jesse Sarey. Photo Courtesy of Elaine Simons.