CHEYENNE — The State of Wyoming said Thursday it will retry Adrian Maggos, 28, of Cheyenne, whose four-day trial for attempted second-degree murder ended in a mistrial Nov. 6.
This time the state is hoping law enforcement can find a key witness who allegedly sent threatening texts to Maggos in the days leading up to his shooting of Matthew Kerlee, 31, of Cheyenne, in the chest and pistol-whipping him.
Parres Mondragon, Maggos’ ex-girlfriend, didn’t respond to a subpoena to testify in the first trial and has been charged with contempt of court.
At a status hearing Thursday, when the state announced its intention to retry Maggos, Laramie County Assistant District Attorney William Edelman requested that the retrial not begin for at least two weeks so law enforcement can find Mondragon.
First Judicial District Judge Nathaniel Hibben said the trail tentatively will be scheduled for mid-December.
Maggos’ attorneys claimed that he acted in self-defense because he feared for his life. Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit at the hearing Thursday, he sat with his defense attorneys, Stacy Kirven and Cassie Craven.
Maggos has spent the last 177 days in the Laramie County Detention Center. His bond was originally set at $250,000, which remains in effect.
Mondragon will be a witness for the state, but her testimony might also benefit the defense, depending on her account of what happened.
Upset With Break-Up
At the first trial, Laramie County Assistant District Attorney Steven McManamen told the jury Mondragon was upset after the breakup with Maggos and on April 19 allegedly texted him that her friend Kerlee was coming over “to beat your ass.”
Kerlee testified that he was drinking at a bar with Mondragon on the night of April 30 when she asked for a ride to Maggos’ house. James Eddy, a police detective who was the lead investigator, testified that among the texts Mondragon sent to Maggos that night was a demand that he be outside when she arrived, or they would break his windows.
The pair drove up to the house at about 4:15 a.m.
Kerlee testified that he was only dropping Mondragon off, but after they arrived she jumped out of the car and immediately got into a verbal fight with Maggos. He said when things escalated and Maggos pushed her hard against his car, he left the vehicle and threw a punch at the defendant.
But his swing missed, and Kerlee said he then blacked out. Witnesses told police that the two men started wrestling on the ground, with Maggos getting the better of Kerlee.
McManamen played the jury videos from several door cameras in the neighborhood that captured audio from the fight. A shot rang out, which caused witnesses to scatter, but Kerlee said he doesn’t remember it.
But about 20 seconds later there was a second shot, and it hit Kerlee in the chest. The victim said he fell to his knees while Maggos walked up to him and struck him with the gun, cutting him above he right eye and leaving a gash on the crown of his head.
After the first shot Mondragon ran across the street and hid in a window well. Police later found her there asleep, and brought her in for questioning.
According to an affidavit filed by police, Mondragon said she went to Maggos’ house to confront him about Brianna Parry, who she thought was sleeping with him.
Parry and her friend Hailey Scheschi were inside the house when they heard the gunshots. When the women stepped outside they saw Kerlee alone on the ground bleeding and called 911.
According to the affidavit, Parry and Scheschi attempted life-saving aid relayed by the dispatcher, but Scheschi left the scene before police arrived because she had a previous DUI.
Before the victim told them he was hit in the chest, there was so much blood on Kerlee’s head EMTs initially thought that’s where he’d been shot, a police officer’s body cam video played for the jury showed. When an officer asked who shot him, Kerlee replied, “Adrian.”
Maggos returned to his house about eight hours later and surrendered to police. Video showed him asking about Kerlee while being taken to jail, prompting an officer to ask who he was talking about. “The guy I shot,” Maggos said.
‘The Jury Is Stuck’
The jury could have found Maggos guilty or acquitted him on two charges: Attempted second-degree murder, or the lesser charge of attempted voluntary manslaughter. The panel did neither.
The seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated for more than 13 hours over two days without reaching a verdict. On the second day it sent a note to Hibben, stating, “The jury is stuck.”
The judge told the jury to go back and deliberate some more. He pointed out how important their decision is for Maggos, who could be sentenced to between 20 years and life in prison if convicted.
The 12 people who serve on a second jury “will be no more intelligent than you are, no more impartial than you are, and no more competent than you are,” Hibben told the members of the panel.
But an hour and a half later, the jury sent a second note to the judge: “The jury has unanimously decided that further deliberations would not be productive without compromising each individual’s judgment.”
Hibben called a mistrial and thanked the jurors for their service before ordering Maggos back to jail.
Did Maggos Fear For His Life?
In its closing argument, the defense said Kerlee was in an alcohol and drug-fueled rage when he attempted to hit Maggos, who was justifiably in fear for his life.
But McManamen mocked the notion that Maggos would be afraid for his life because someone threatened to break his windows.
McManamen claimed Maggos, who was wearing a dark hoodie, allegedly fired a 9-mm pistol at Kerlee that went through a hole in a “kangaroo” pocket without visibly being drawn.
Maggos allegedly told friends that he had “secured” the weapon. Maggos’ brother gave police a 9-mm pistol that was in the family’s home, but after the Wyoming State Crime Lab sent it to an outside lab for testing, it was determined to not be the one used to fire either shot.
Eddy testified that the weapon has still not been found.
A doctor who performed emergency surgery on Kerlee testified he was shot in the left side of his chest, and the bullet traveled at a downward angle and hit the diaphragm, stomach and colon before exiting through his back.
Kerlee was given blood tests at the hospital, and the results were positive for methamphetamine, fentanyl, THC (marijuana) as well as alcohol.
No Speedy Trial Issue
Hibben said both the U.S. Constitution and Wyoming Rule of Criminal Procedure 48 guarantee a defendant’s right to a speedy trial. Rule 48 generally requires a criminal charge to be brought to trial within 180 days after arraignment, subject to certain exclusions and exceptions.
Because Maggos’ first trial happened before that deadline, Hibben said he doesn’t see any speedy trial issues in his retrial, although the judge, state and defense attorneys expressed that they want the retrial to be held as soon as possible.
Hibben noted that state courts do not have a requirement that a retrial must be held by a specific time after the first one was declared a mistrial.
Hibben said there are several trials scheduled in First Judicial District Court in Laramie County between now and the week before Christmas. He asked both sides to block out Dec. 14-18 and be prepared to go to trial.
Neither side indicated if there had been any attempts to reach a plea bargain.
