PORT ANGELES — Attorneys during Tuesday’s opening arguments in the first-degree murder trial of Etienne Choquette promised a Clallam County Superior Court jury two different tales of what happened the night Antonio Rodriguez Maldonado was shot to death in Forks.
Forks police officers said Choquette, a Forks resident, shot Rodriguez Maldonado, 33, at about 11 p.m. Sept. 24, 2009 — first in the upper body, then in the back of the head.
A .38-caliber revolver was found in the Quillayute River.
Deputy Prosecutor Ann Lundwall told the eight women and seven men on the jury that Choquette had taken justice onto himself.
“This is a case where the defendant became a vigilante to impress a woman,” she said.
If convicted and if he has no prior felonies, Choquette could be sentenced from 20 ½ years to life in prison and fined up to $50,000.
The prosecution contends that Choquette had become close with Forks resident Kellie White, who was the estranged girlfriend of Rodriguez Maldonado, Lundwall said.
“The police found that Kellie White had told him that Tony was abusing her and that she would be better off if he were dead — that he would never leave her alone unless he were dead,” Lundwall said.
Lundwall said that Choquette’s vehicle had been identified by a 15-year-old girl who was at a gas station near the intersection where the shooting took place.
Choquette’s attorney, Gary Sund, said that the girl identifying Choquette’s SUV gave three numbers from the license plate but that only one was correct for Choquette’s vehicle.
Lundwall said that Choquette had confessed to police and that he told them where to find the gun used in the shooting.
Sund said that DNA evidence, which used cigarette butts to link him to the scene, was inconclusive and that Choquette confessed only to protect a woman he had a “great affection” for.
Sund — who referred to Choquette by his nickname, “Lucky” — said that his client had confessed after a period during his questioning that was “off the record,” or not tape recorded.
He said that Choquette would later testify that during that session, he believed he was making a deal with Forks Police Officer Darrell Elmore that he would confess to manslaughter if White were released and he had a reasonable bail.
“Here is where the rubber meets the road,” Sund said.
“That deal did not get kept.”
Sund said that ultimately, the case would come down to the credibility of Choquette and Elmore.
He said he would call into question the credibility of Elmore during the case.
The trial is expected to last between eight and 10 days.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
