A man who stabbed a Federal Way teacher was sentenced to prison following a felony plea agreement.
On Nov. 14, Tyler Joseph Lawler, 34, of Federal Way, received a 13-month sentence for second-degree assault, plus a 12-month deadly weapon enhancement, making his sentence a total of 25 months — a little over two years — for a September 2023 incident where Lawler stabbed a teacher at Holy Innocents School of the Northwest, 2530 S. 298th St., Federal Way.
This follows a felony plea agreement in which prosecutors recommended that Lawler receive the sentence the court ultimately imposed. According to court documents, Lawler was initially charged with first-degree assault, but following Lawler’s guilty plea, his charge was amended to second-degree assault.
Lawler had a previous conviction of second-degree arson and a third-degree domestic violence conviction, giving him an offender score of three for the crime of second-degree assault. According to documents, Lawler’s sentencing range was between 13 and 17 months.
In July, Lawler’s attorney asked that Lawler have a competency hearing because comments that he made led him to believe Lawler’s ability to assist counsel could be impaired. According to documents, Lawler’s attorney stated that Lawler said, “I’m lock up with domestic terrorists who want to sodomize me and murder me,” “I’m also a brigadier general of the Army and a first responder. I’m also a fireman first responder,” and “I’m a reincarnated yankee – got into a fight with a confedarate,” among other comments.
Documents state that when a psychiatric evaluator asked Lawler about these comments, he said that he was being a “smart aleck” and a punk. Lawler told the evaluator he was watching political content on his jail tablet, which influenced his behavior.
Documents state that Lawler said that the victim was his physical education teacher from grades three through 12, and he also detailed various incidents that occurred over subsequent years.
The evaluator ultimately concluded that they believed that Lawler was not experiencing symptoms of a mental disease or defect that would prevent him from having the capacities to proceed with his legal case. The evaluator stated that Lawler might be challenging, sarcastic and intense at times, but that these are personality characteristics that do not impair his capacities for trial competency.
Details of the incident
On Sept. 18, 2023, Federal Way police responded to Holy Innocents School of the Northwest after receiving a report of a stabbing. Upon arriving at the scene, officers learned the suspect had fled the area, and two witnesses transported the victim, a teacher at the school, to St. Francis Medical Center.
The victim identified the suspect as Lawler, a former student who used to live at the school. According to documents, Lawler approached the teacher as he was doing construction work and started to wrestle with him in an unprovoked attack. Lawler then plunged a four-and-a-half-inch steak knife into the teacher’s back. The teacher also suffered a cut to his forearm in the attack.
Lawler finished the attack, striking the teacher in the head and knocking him to the ground. The attack resulted in significant injuries, according to documents.
The teacher advised police that Lawler had been making threats to him recently, and he believed “Lawler was trying to kill him.” Documents state that police located Lawler at the VA Hospital in Seattle the following day, Sept. 19, and arrested him.
