BY PEPPER FISHER
Port Angeles – A Sequim man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday morning for the attempted murder of his neighbor in 2022. The sentence followed a guilty plea to the charge in a case of unrequited love that turned deadly.
Prosecutors say 69-year-old James Luoma and his female neighbor, who was 49 at the time of the incident, had a complicated relationship that deteriorated once she started dating another man. A police report says the woman was in the process of getting a protection order against Luoma, saying he had been coming into her house, touching her, and saying he wanted to have a romantic relationship with her, which she did not want.
Luoma told investigators he was angry, suicidal and felt betrayed after giving the woman $140,000 because he loved her, describing himself as a sugar daddy.
At the time of the incident, then-Police Chief Sheri Crain described it this way.
“It was not a domestic violence situation. There was not a dating relationship, but the female victim was in the process of trying to get an anti-harassment order. So, the intentions there were directed towards that individual. Other people in the neighborhood actually saw some of these events unfold, and were certainly valuable when it came to piecing together what happened last night.”
On April 27, 2022, Luoma went to the woman’s house in the 700 block of West Heritage Loop carrying a 9mm Glock handgun. When she came out of her house, he began shooting at her. Somehow, he missed, and she fled into a nearby garage. Luoma chased after her and continued firing. Once in the garage, the two struggled over the gun until the woman, who is deaf, was able to get the gun and fire off several rounds, shooting off Luoma’s thumb as he went to grab it. She then tossed the gun and ran out of the garage.
At that point, multiple Sequim Police officers arrived on the scene. The officers were able to detain Luoma and retrieve the firearm without incident.
Prosecutor Steve Johnson said, “It is a miracle that she lived.”
Sequim detectives obtained a confession from Luoma following his release from the hospital.