PORT ANGELES — Etienne L. Choquette was sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday for shooting Antonio Rodriguez Maldonado to death on a Forks street in September 2009.
Choquette, 47, was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder Dec. 14.
At the sentencing hearing, he thanked Clallam Superior Court Judge Ken Williams for a fair trial.
His attorney, Gary Sund, filed for an appeal during the hearing.
Sund agreed the trial was fair but said the jury should never have been presented with Choquette’s confession to Forks police.
He said his client confessed with the understanding that he would face only a manslaughter charge and that his friend, Kelli White, wouldn’t face charges.
During the hearing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ann Lundwall read a statement from Rodriguez Maldonado’s mother, in which she addressed Choquette.
“I want you to know you were used as a tool to take the life of my son,” she said.
“She manipulated him like she manipulated you.”
White allegedly told Choquette, at least five times, that she wanted Rodriguez Maldonado, 33, her estranged boyfriend, dead, according to court documents.
She was arrested for investigation of conspiracy to commit murder but wasn’t charged because of a lack of proof that she conspired in the murder.
Attorney: Not premeditated
Sund also said he is appealing the conviction because he doesn’t think the murder was premeditated.
He said his client “snapped” after Rodriguez Maldonado refused to get into his vehicle.
The jury didn’t agree because Choquette shot Rodriguez Maldonado in the back of the head while he was on the ground after already having been shot in the upper body.
Sund also told Williams that his client “has a deep soul” and that he would be “honored” if he was his next-door neighbor.
Williams acknowledged that Choquette killed Rodriguez Maldonado because of his relationship with White.
“Mr. Choquette may not have done this but for his caring of another person,” he said. “While it’s certainly no excuse, it is a possible explanation.”
Sund, 68, said the case was his last. He’s retiring after 35 years practicing law.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
