EPHRATA - A Moses Lake man is serving six months in jail after an attempted robbery revealed he had marijuana at his residence.

Timothy P. Mandelas, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree. He entered an Alford plea to possession with intent to manufacture or deliver marijuana, according to court records.

The Alford plea means Mandelas didn't admit to possession with the intent to deliver, but didn't want to take the case to trial.

Prosecutors added a murder in the second degree charge after Mandelas was initially charged. The charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement, according to court records.

"In this case Mandelas, a convicted felon with two guns in his possession, was dealing marijuana out of his home. In the course of his dealings he ended up shooting an individual in his home. Based on those facts, Mandelas was charged with two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and second degree murder," Prosecutor Angus Lee stated. "After a full and complete review of all the information provided from law enforcement, it was clear that the information provided by Mandelas was accurate. Accordingly, that count (of murder in the second degree) was dismissed."

Mandelas' attorney, Robert Schiffner, accused Lee of wasting taxpayer money by filing the murder charge in an attempt to pressure his client into a plea agreement.

"This isn't a murder case. That's why he wasn't charged with murder initially. This is clearly a case of self-defense," he said. "(Mandelas) was told that he had to plead guilty to the original charges, or they would file additional murder charges even before the discovery in the case is complete."

Schiffner said he couldn't advise his client because he hadn't reviewed all the evidence in the case.

"(In) this case the prosecutor's office was saying, 'We're not telling you what all the evidence is, but we need your client to immediately plead guilty, or we're going to add murder charges,'" Schiffner said. "I'm following the Constitution and the rules of professional conduct, which are my guide; not what's popular, or what's easy, or what's simple.'

Schiffner added Mandelas offered to enter a guilty plea to certain charges, and the prosecutor's office rejected the offer.

"The time he's serving now is less than the time he would have served if they had accepted my offer," he said.

He said he couldn't elaborate on what Mandelas offered to plead guilty to.

"The irony here is that all this horsing around and all this waste of taxpayer dollars. Having this case mill about in the system and all the clerks' time, the secretaries' time, the judge's time and police officers' time, wasted, and the prosecutor ended up with less than what I offered," Schiffner said. 'All this posturing got them nothing."

Lee responded the addition of the murder charges didn't cost the taxpayers any additional money.

"I think the important thing here is the defendant pleaded guilty to the original charges that were filed," he said. "I would just say that Mr. Schiffner's statements are patently false and he, of course, knows it."

Mandelas has prior convictions for delivery of marijuana, forgery and theft in the second degree, according to court records. When combined with his present convictions, he faced a sentencing range of four months to a year in jail.

Prosecutors asked for a year in jail and Schiffner asked for four months, according to a transcript of the sentencing hearing.

Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline sentenced Mandelas to six months in jail.

The charges against Mandelas came after three men attempted to rob him, according to a Grant County sheriff's report. He told police he was in his living room, when Joshua Montano, 30, Moses Lake, and two unidentified men knocked on his door.

After Mandelas opened the door, two of the men, reportedly including Montano, forced their way into the residence, according to the police report. Montano was allegedly armed with a knife, the other man had a gun.

Montano demanded Mandelas give them marijuana, according to the police report. Mandelas purchased two pounds of marijuana in Spokane earlier in the day. He tried giving Montano a smaller bag, but Montano wanted a larger amount.

Mandelas told the men he was going back to the safe to get the marijuana, and Montano followed him, according to the police report. After Mandelas told Montano to get the combination numbers, written on the hallway wall, he grabbed the gun he hid by the safe and tried to hit Montano with it.

Montano responded by swinging the knife at Mandelas, who fell backward, according to the police report. Montano jumped on top of him, and during the struggle Montano was shot in the chest. The other men allegedly fled the scene after hearing the gun shot.

Mandelas has a medical marijuana card, and admitted to police he sold the drug to other medical marijuana patients, according to court records. State law doesn't allow patients to sell the drug or to have more than 1.5 pounds.