Malsch pleads guilty to vehicular homicide, other charges in Redmond case

Robert Malsch pleaded guilty as charged Monday morning to vehicular homicide — DUI, felony hit and run and reckless driving in Redmond in February 2015, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

Robert Malsch pleaded guilty as charged Monday morning to vehicular homicide — DUI, felony hit and run and reckless driving in Redmond in February 2015, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

He faces a sentence range of 95 to 125 months in prison, and prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 125 months. Sentencing is scheduled for 1 p.m. July 1 before Judge Mary Roberts in courtroom in W-905 of the King County Courthouse.

Malsch — who is booked into King County Jail and had bail set at $700,000 — failed to appear for his initial trial on Feb. 29, according to King County Superior Court documents. He was apprehended and arrested by Everett police on March 17.

The court issued a bench warrant in State of Washington vs. Robert James Malsch for his arrest, and bail on the warrant was $150,000. The defendant had been out of custody after posting bond, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

According to the Redmond Police Department Twitter via Q13 Fox and Washington’s Most Wanted on March 17: “They (Everett police) got an anonymous tip that he was in a vehicle at a gas station in Everett. Officers responded and found a matching vehicle in the area and contacted the driver. Malsch provided a false name, had dyed his hair red and cut it. They compared photos and made a positive ID. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.”

A Reporter story noted that Malsch — a 21-year-old from Lynnwood — was involved in a two-car collision early Feb. 28, 2015, which resulted in the death of the driver in the other car. The other driver was identified as Michael Ey.

A Redmond Police Department spokesperson said Malsch was traveling at a high speed and rear-ended Ey, whose vehicle was stopped at a traffic light off State Route 520 and Avondale Road.

Malsch took two blood tests at Harborview Medical Center, one of which was sent to the Washington State Toxicology laboratory and one that revealed his blood-alcohol level to be approximately three times the legal limit of .08, court documents state.

Malsch was transported to Harborview for non-life-threatening injuries.

According to court documents, a witness driver estimated that Malsch was driving at “100-plus mph” on SR 520 — which has a posted 60-mph speed limit — and nearly hit his vehicle prior to the collision, which took place in a 40-mph zone. It is not clear how fast Malsch was driving at the time of the accident.