An Aberdeen man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of a Hoquiam man at a Humptulips River boat launch in August 2018.

Daniel Stephen Heyting, 31, pleaded guilty Nov. 25 to the murder of Andrew Detwiler, 35, of Hoquiam. Grays Harbor County Prosecutor Katie Svoboda has recommended a sentence of more than 25 years in prison. Svoboda is also recommending an additional three years of community custody.

The standard sentence range for the crime is 12-20 years, with a 5-year enhancement attached because a firearm was used in commission of the crime. The maximum sentence is life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.

Heyting, who was scheduled for a jury trial Dec. 17, has a sentencing hearing slated for Dec. 20.

In charging documents filed by Svoboda in 2018, she said she believed the murder to be drug-related, saying Detwiler was known to carry both cash and drugs and there was evidence Heyting was struggling with his own drug addiction.

Detwiler’s body was found at the boat launch at 1344 State Route 109 around 8:30 a.m. Aug. 12, 2018. He had been shot three times in the head and face and was identified by a “Detwiler” tattoo on his back, investigators who knew him from a recent burglary investigation, and later by a family member.

Heyting was part of the burglary investigation tied to Detwiler, according to court documents. Investigators tied Heyting to the homicide through Detwiler’s Facebook messenger account; in one message shortly after midnight the day Detwiler’s body was found, investigators said Heyting identifies himself and asks for assistance with a dead battery at the location where Detwiler’s body was found.

A witness also came forward, saying he met both the victim and suspect at the boat launch that night, contradicting Heyting’s earlier statements to investigators that he only casually knew Detwiler and had not been at the boat launch that night.

Another witness told investigators Detwiler was seen carrying a black backpack and a knife attached to its side the night of Aug. 11. Both items were found in Heyting’s shop after Heyting allowed investigators to search there the day Detwiler’s body was discovered. Heyting was arrested then for possession of a stolen item. His clothes were collected and officers observed what turned out to be blood on Heyting’s clothing.

A warrant for Heyting’s arrest for Detwiler’s murder was issued Sept. 14, 2018 and he was arraigned in Superior Court Sept. 17. He has been held in the Grays Harbor County Jail on $500,000 bail since his arrest.