MOSES LAKE, Wash. – The man convicted of shooting and killing three people at a Moses Lake middle school in 1996 was in Grant County Superior Court for a motion hearing on Friday.
Barry Loukaitis was just 14-years-old when he killed a teacher and two fellow students at Frontier Middle School. He was sentenced to life in prison. So far, he has served more than 20 years.
In court Friday, a judge set re-sentencing dates for October 27 and 28.
The Supreme Court has ruled teenagers younger than 16-years-old cannot be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Juveniles cannot serve more than 25 years according to the recent court ruling. So, despite multiple life sentences, Loukaidis could be released by 2021.
Back in January, it was decided that the judge assigned to Loukaitis' original sentencing, Judge Michael Cooper, would be appointed to do the future sentencing. Cooper has been brought out of retirement to preside over the case.
"The whole reason we're having a re-sentencing in the first place is because you can't have a life sentence in the first place. So, the court is going to have to look and see what kind of a sentence that they're going to impose," said Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell. "A mitigation has to do with what factors can the defense bring in this case that could possibly make it even lower than the state would like it to be."
The Spokane County Prosecutor's office is now handling the case because Lokaitis' old defense attorneys now work for the Grant County Prosecutor.