I've been to Woodenville once for a job interview. It's about a half hour from me. Not sure what a "long drive" is to you, but I live in Everett - a 45 minute drive north of Seattle. Woodenville is on 405 between Everett and Seattle a few miles to the east....
Sounds to me like they don't care if their cohort gets the max sentence.
I’d agree with you that for us in Woodinville, Seattle isn’t a long drive. But for an urbanite in Seattle, it’s on the other side of the world to drive to Woodinville