PORT ANGELES — Witness testimony in Nathaniel Darren Olson’s manslaughter trial entered its second week Tuesday.
A Clallam County jury heard more details about the .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun and hollow-point bullet that killed Matthew Baker at a house party near Port Angeles in May 2014.
Olson, 29, is charged with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm enhancement for Baker’s death. Baker was 25.
Clallam County Sheriff’s Sgt. Randy Pieper described on cross-examination a chaotic scene at 1523 Monroe Road as he and a Port Angeles police officer arrived to investigate a reported shooting.
Pieper said he found a deceased Baker on the living room floor and a heavily intoxicated Olson lying near the body.
Two women approached the responding officers, one of whom was “very disturbed and yelling and screaming,” Pieper said.
“I was trying to get from her what had happened, and she kept yelling at me,” he said.
‘I’m 9-1-1’
“She shook the phone at me and said, ‘This is 9-1-1.’ And I took the phone from her and said, ‘I’m 9-1-1.’ ”
A woman attempted to perform CPR on Baker, who was pronounced dead by paramedics at the home.
Witnesses who were taking shots of alcohol in a kitchen area told investigators that Baker and Olson were alone when they heard a “pop” coming from the living room, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
Witnesses said there had been a fight between Baker and another man, David Holden, prior to the shooting.
Pieper said he found a heavily intoxicated Holden in a bed in the master bedroom of the residence.
Those who attended the social gathering are expected to testify later in the trial.
On direct examination, Pieper was asked to describe and display the gun and ammunition used in the shooting. Pieper is a firearms expert witness for the state.
Objections
Defense attorney Karen Unger made several objections to the relevance and cumulative nature of the testimony, noting that a ballistics expert had already established that the firearm was operable.
“We know that Mr. Baker was shot and he was killed,” Unger told Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer.
“I’m not sure what this testimony — why it’s relevant about the issues at hand.”
Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Michele Devlin said the state “has a right to do its case as it pleases and let the jury know the information on what a firearm is and what it is capable of.”
Rohrer sustained some of Unger’s objections and overruled others.
Testimony is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. today.
Olson posted a $75,000 bail bond in June 2014.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
