CHEYENNE — A Cheyenne man who told police he was shot in the chest nearly point blank by Adrian Maggos in April, then pistol-whipped twice, testified Tuesday that he thought he was just dropping a friend off at her ex-boyfriend’s house and never expected to be attacked.
Maggos, also of Cheyenne, is on trial for the attempted second-degree murder of Matthew Kerlee, 31.
The incident happened at about 4 a.m. on April 30 in front of Maggos’ home at 3rd Avenue and Central Avenue.
Defense attorney Stacy Kirven told the jury that Maggos had received several text messages from his ex-girlfriend, Parres Mondragon, earlier that night in which she threatened that she was coming over with Kerlee, who “will beat your ass.”
She also said they would break his windows.
But Kerlee testified that he had met Maggos about 10 times before that night and got along with him, though he knew the defendant and Mondragon had recently broken up again in what had been a tumultuous relationship.
He described her as the sister of a good friend, so Kerlee said he treated her like a sister.
Laramie County Assistant District Attorney Steven McManamen said Maggos was waiting outside his house near the driveway when Kerlee and Mondragon drove up.
He said the woman got out of the car and she and Maggos began shouting at and hitting each other.
McManamen said once Kerlee entered the confrontation to protect Mondragon, Maggos shot his gun twice, hitting Kerlee the second time.
The prosecutor said the bullet struck him in the chest and exited his body on the left side.
Shooter Taunted Victim
McManamen said the shooter taunted the victim, including using an ethnic slur, and then hit him in the head twice with the gun before fleeing the scene.
He said no witnesses saw what he did with the weapon, and Maggos later said he got rid of it. The gun was never found.
The witnesses all fled, McManamen said, including Mondragon, who hid in a window well in a house across the street.
A few people stopped to render aid to the victim, including a woman who called 911 and was told to apply pressure to Kerlee’s wound until police or EMTs arrived.
The prosecutor told the jury the evidence will show that when police officers asked Kerlee who shot him, he answered, “Adrian.”
If convicted of attempted second-degree murder, Maggos could face 20 years to life in prison.
Kerlee, taking the witness stand in the afternoon, said the evening began with he and Mondragon at a bar drinking, and they had also used meth.
While he was in his car drinking a couple of shots from a bottle of Crown Royal, he said she texted him from the bar and said he needed to drive her to see Maggos.
Kerlee said when Mondragon got out of his car at Maggos’ house, he told her several times that they should leave.
But when Maggos shoved her hard against the car, he said, he got out and took a swing at Maggos but missed.
After that, Kerlee said he blacked out.
Two Shots Were Fired
During his opening statement McManamen said two shots were fired — and video from door cameras in nearby houses played for the jury confirmed that — Kerlee said he only remembered one shot, getting hit in the chest by the bullet and screaming in pain.
He said he dropped to his knees, and that’s when Maggos “hit me twice in the head with the butt of his gun.”
Kerlee said he had heard that Maggos owned a gun but had never seen him carry it. He said when the shot was fired, the gun had been hidden in a pocket in Maggos’ hoodie.
Kerlee still has a scar above his left eyebrow from the hit to his head. The other blow was on top of his head.
The victim said he was unarmed.
Kerlee said he does not remember talking to any of the three officers who responded to the emergency call.
“I woke up in the hospital with a sharp pain in my chest area,” he recalled. Then he saw his family and friends after surgery.
Jim Eddy, the lead detective in the case, is expected to testify later in the trial, which is scheduled to last until Thursday or Friday.
In his affidavit describing Kerlee’s life-threatening injuries to the court, he wrote that the bullet most likely entered his body between the sternum and left areola, striking his diaphragm, stomach, colon, and lower rib before exiting the victim’s left flank.
In her cross-examination, Kirven asked Kerlee if he had ever talked about his own criminal activity with her client. Kerlee said he disclosed to him that he had been in prison for burglary.
Then the attorney pressed him further about an alleged kidnapping charge.
Kerlee said that never happened, McManamen objected, and the attorneys joined First Judicial District Judge Nathaniel Hibben for a sidebar.
When they finished, Kirven said she was done with her questioning.
On redirect, McManamen asked Kerlee if had ever been charged with kidnapping, and he answered “no.”
Defending His Property?
In her opening statement, Kirven portrayed Maggos as a man defending his property. She said his relatives who lived with him in the house were asleep when Kerlee arrived.
Kirven portrayed Mondragon as the person who set in motion the chain of events that resulted on the morning of April 30.
She said that 11 days before the shooting, Mondragon had texted Maggos that Kerlee would beat him up in her defense.
Maggos’ defense attorney said at some point he had called his brother to tell police that he would turn himself in.
But Maggos didn’t do that for more than 12 hours, when he returned home.
The jury, which has eight men and five women, was chosen in about three hours on Tuesday morning. One juror will be excused as an alternate when the trial goes to the jury.
