CHEYENNE — Defense counsel for a Cheyenne man charged with attempted second-degree murder unexpectedly rested Wednesday afternoon without calling a single witness.
Stacy Kirven and Cassie Craven, defense attorneys for Aaron Maggos, who is accused of shooting another Cheyenne man in the chest and then pistol-whipping him on April 30, used their cross-examination of the state’s witnesses to try to make a case that their client acted in self-defense.
Before both Laramie County Assistant District Attorney Steven McManamen and the defense rested, the prosecutor played a six-minute video of police officers and EMTs rendering aid to Matthew Kerlee, 31, on the street outside of 3523 Central Avenue, Maggos’ home.
The eight-man, four-woman jury watched intently as the first responders tried to assess what had happened to Kerlee. His head and chest were both bloody but he was conscious, lying on his back and telling them he’d been shot in the chest.
“Who shot you?” asked one of the men who kept peppering Kerlee with questions.
“Aaron,” he answered.
Maggos had fled the scene of the shooting, which happened about 4:15 a.m., but he surrendered to police when he returned home eight hours later.
Victim Tells Son He’s Sorry
Emergency workers tried to keep Kerlee awake. He was asked if he had any kids, and he told them about his 4-year-old son.
“Please tell him I’m sorry for being such a f***-up,” Kerlee implored. “Please tell him.”
Kerlee testified on the opening day of the trial Tuesday that he did not expect to get into a fight with Maggos, who he had met about 10 times and gotten along with. Kerlee said he had been in a bar drinking with Parres Mondragon, the sister of a good friend of his, when she asked him to give her a ride to Maggos’ house.
Kerlee said he knew Mondragon and Maggos had recently broken up, as they had done previously in their tumultuous relationship. When they arrived, Maggos was standing in the driveway, and Mondragon — who Kerlee said he treated like a sister — jumped out of the car.
Kerlee said she and Maggos immediately started yelling and pushing each other. He said he heard Maggos threaten to harm her, so he got out of his car and threw a punch at him but missed.
Then, Kerlee said, he passed out. Drug tests performed later at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center confirmed that he tested positive for methamphetamine, fentanyl, THC (marijuana) and alcohol.
Witnesses who fled the scene but later talked to Cheyenne police detectives said Maggos was wearing a dark hoodie and had a gun in a “kangaroo” pocket. Lead detective James Eddy testified Wednesday that there was a hole in the pocket through which the bullet could be fired while the pistol remained hidden.
Several door cameras in the neighborhood captured the sound of a gunshot, followed by Maggos yelling and twice calling Kerlee an ethnic slur. About 20 seconds later, the cameras captured the sound of another gunshot, but this time Kerlee yelled “F***! I’ve been shot!” and fell to his knees. On the witness stand he said the gun was fired at point-blank range.
Defendant Pistol-Whipped Victim
Kerlee said Maggos continued to yell at him, and pistol-whipped him above his right eye and on the crown of his head before running away.
Dr. James Gates, a general surgeon who has a private practice but also sees patients at the hospital's emergency room, said he was called in to examine Kerlee to determine the extent of his wounds and perform any necessary surgery.
Gates said the victim’s wounds were life-threatening but there was no immediate danger because he was no longer bleeding. He said a 9-mm bullet entered the left side of Kerlee’s chest and went in at a downward angle, hitting his diaphragm, stomach and colon before exiting from his lower back.
Kirven cross-examined Eddy and bore down on his testimony about the investigation. She noted that police found two different brands of 9-mm cartridge casings on the sidewalk at Maggos’ home.
The defense attorney asked Eddy if police had searched for the gun. He said Maggos’ brother gave them a 9-mm pistol, which was sent to the Wyoming State Crime Lab.
The detective said the lab sends weapons to another site for testing, and the report came back that it wasn’t the gun used to shoot Kerlee.
“You never swabbed the gun for DNA?” Kirven asked Eddy.
“No,” he replied. “We never found the gun. So that would have been impossible.”
Motion To Acquit Denied
After the state rested its case early Wednesday afternoon, Kirven moved for an acquittal based on lack of sufficient evidence that Maggos “maliciously and purposefully” intended to kill Kerlee.
She said Mondragon had sent Maggos text messages on April 19 threatening that Kerlee would “beat your ass” to protect her. On April 30, the night of the shooting, Kirven said Maggos did not invite the pair to his house.
She said Mondragon sent her former boyfriend a text that said they were coming over and that they would break his windows if he wasn’t outside when they arrived.
But during his testimony, Eddy said when he and other detectives questioned Mondragon she told them different stories. In one of her texts to Maggos, he said, she told him she still loved him.
Kirven said after ingesting numerous dangerous drugs, Kerlee had been in no condition to drive to Maggos’ house, and that his temperament was erratic, volatile and threatening when he arrived. She noted that while he missed, Kerlee threw the first punch at the defendant.
But McManamen said the state’s evidence showed that Maggos was the aggressor throughout the confrontation, throwing Mondragon against the car and threatening her until Kerlee rushed to her defense.
The prosecutor said when the pair shoved each other to the ground, witnesses said Kerlee was clearly not getting the best of him, yet Maggos chose to shoot him and then pummel him with the butt end of his pistol.
First Judicial District Judge Nathaniel Hibben denied the motion and said either side could present a winning argument to the jury. He conducted a conference Wednesday afternoon so he and the two sides could work on jury instructions.
One of the options available, McManamen said, was to include a possible lesser charge, such as attempted manslaughter.
Hibben said the trial was to resume at 9 a.m. Thursday and would begin with jury instructions and then closing arguments. The jury was likely to get the case late in the morning or after a lunch break.
If convicted of attempted second-degree murder, Maggos could face a prison sentence of 20 years to life.
