ML man sentenced for murder of grandfather

EPHRATA — A Moses Lake man has been sentenced to over 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to the violent murder of his grandfather.

Isaiah Joshua Thomas, 28, was sentenced to a maximum term of 244 months behind bars by Judge Anna Gigliotti during a March 10 hearing in Grant County Superior Court.

Thomas was accused of killing 75-year-old Richard Andrews, whose body was found on Nov. 3, 2024 buried in a shallow grave behind his shop in the 7600 block of Stanley Drive NE in Cascade Valley. Investigators said his throat had been slashed and it appeared he had been beaten before he died.

Thomas had been living at Andrews’ home, located a few miles away inside Moses Lake city limits in the 400 block of North Dale Road. Two days before his body was found, Andrews told a daughter that he was planning to go on a hunting trip.

But after his initial disappearance was noted, family members told police that a number of Andrews’ personal possessions including his glasses, wallet, and phone were still at his residence, indicating he never left town. Another family member said Thomas – who was described as having mental issues and erratic behavior – had permission to drive Andrews’ pickup, which was observed at the residence with an axe and shovel in the bed of the truck.

Both Moses Lake police and Grant County sheriff’s deputies investigated the homicide. While the victim’s body was located at the Cascade Valley property, investigators said blood was observed on the back door of the home on Dale Road and a sheathed knife with blood on it was found in plain view on a coffee table inside. Based on those discoveries and other circumstantial evidence, Thomas was subsequently taken into custody and booked into the Grant County Jail.

Thomas was scheduled to stand trial on Feb. 11, but he pled guilty two days earlier to second-degree murder (domestic violence) with a deadly weapon enhancement and to a separate count of unlawful disposal of human remains.

During last week’s sentencing hearing, Gigliotti also ordered Thomas to submit to mental health treatment, serve 36 months’ community custody upon release from prison, and to have no contact with several family members who provided information during the criminal investigation.

The case was handled by Grant County chief deputy prosecutor Carlee Bittle. Thomas was represented by county public defender David Bustamante.