Pedro “Junior” Godinez Jr. was sentenced Wednesday to more than 50 years in prison for the attempted murder, robbery and kidnapping of an Oregon man near Vancouver Lake.
Freddie Landstrom, 39, of Beaverton, Ore., was lured to the apartment of Godinez’s then-girlfriend, Joanna Speaks, on Nov. 28, 2012. Godinez abducted Landstrom, someone he’d never met before, at gunpoint, and led Landstrom to believe that he would live — until the point when Landstrom gave Godinez his ATM PIN numbers. Godinez shot Landstrom five times.
Wounded, Landstrom escaped by fleeing in the darkness through a swamp and field until he stumbled upon Kadow’s Marina, a cluster of houseboats at 10612 N.W. Lower River Road. He sought help at one of the residences, and a woman inside called 911 because she thought he was an intruder.
“One, I’m happy that there’s justice,” Landstrom said Wednesday. “Two, it’s sad because most people don’t understand this person is going to leave. I’m assuming he has some people who love him, and this will impact their lives more than anyone knows.”
Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Dan Gasperino asked Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson to sentence Godinez to 50 years in prison. Johnson sentenced him to 50 years and seven months.
She said in her decision that she considered Godinez’s age and his criminal history, which has involved multiple crimes involving firearms. Two of the crimes were violent.
“Mr. Landstrom has described in very vivid detail what happened to him,” Johnson said Wednesday. “Usually, the victim isn’t able to testify in such an incident. He showed “amazing endurance.”
“It’s hard to imagine a more egregious form of attempted murder than what happened here,” Johnson said.
A jury found Godinez guilty March 12 of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. The jury also found Godinez committed the crimes with deliberate cruelty and lack of remorse, both aggravating factors, which allowed Johnson to sentence him to an amount of time greater than the state’s standard range. A mandatory five years was added to both the attempted murder and kidnapping portions of the sentence because Godinez committed the crimes with a firearm.
Godinez’s two small daughters and their mother were present for Wednesday’s hearing, as were two of the detectives who investigated the case.
The girls’ mother, Cassandra Neal, cried as she heard the sentence and rocked the older child in her arms. Godinez, who was seated at a counsel table with his attorney, Chuck Buckley Jr., showed no emotion as he heard the sentence. He did not speak before or after the judge announced the sentence.
Landstrom thanked Gasperino and the Vancouver police officers who responded to the scene and investigated the case. He gave special thanks to Vancouver police Officer John Janisch, who was the first officer on the scene at Kadow’s Marina after the woman’s 911 call. Landstrom said Janisch ordered him to put his hands up, and Landstrom couldn’t comply because he was wounded from multiple gunshots.
“I want to thank everybody, especially Officer John when he took a leap of faith and didn’t shoot me when I didn’t raise my hands,” Landstrom said.
“I’m glad it’s over now,” Landstrom added. “Let the healing for both parties begin.”
