PORT ANGELES — Testimony resumed in Clallam County Superior Court in the trial of Brian Lester, who is charged with the attempted murder of Michael Lynch last spring near the 9/11 Memorial Waterfront Park in Port Angeles.
Lester, 39, is accused of assaulting Lynch — his cousin — and then shooting at a Kia Rio in which Lynch and Lester’s former partner, Dorothy Hunt-Wood, were sitting.
He is facing charges of attempted premeditated first-degree murder, second-degree murder and felony harassment. He has pleaded not guilty.
In opening statements Monday, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Roberson told jurors that Lester tracked down Hunt-Wood and Lynch “in a fit of jealousy and rage.” Defense attorney Charles Commeree countered that the confrontation stemmed from a dispute over ownership of the Kia and suggested that Lester acted in self-defense because Lynch had attempted to run him over.
On Tuesday, Cpl. Luke Brown of the Port Angeles Police Department testified that he responded shortly before 7:40 a.m. on March 27 to a report of gunfire at the park. When he arrived, he found Lester’s gray Dodge Durango positioned across the narrow road leading to the parking lot, blocking its only entry or exit.
Although a pat-down search revealed no weapons, Brown said a holster, ammunition and a semi-automatic Makarov pistol were found under the front seat of the Durango during a later search.
Brown testified that Lynch had facial injuries consistent with having been struck. He also identified a bullet hole in the Kia’s rear driver-side door. The round, he said, had lodged in the vehicle’s B-pillar — the vertical support between the front and rear doors. A spent casing was recovered from the pavement nearby.
Witness Meghan Ventura told jurors she had arrived that morning to walk her dog when a dark gray vehicle pulled in beside her, then “peeled out” and drove north toward the lower level of the park where the Kia was located.
She said she heard shouting between men, followed by a gunshot. As she tried to call 911, she heard approaching sirens and a man yelling, “Get in the car,” to which a woman replied, “I’m not going anywhere.” Ventura said she did not witness the shooting itself.
Det. Trevor Dropp of the Port Angeles Police Department testified that although city surveillance cameras are installed in the park, none were functioning at the time of the incident.
The trial is scheduled to resume today and is expected to continue through Friday. Superior Court Judge Brent Basden indicated he wants it to conclude no later than Monday.
Lester remains in the Clallam County Jail on $500,000 bond.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
