Jury Deliberating in Rapid City Manslaughter Trial

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Jurors are deliberating the fate of a man accused of shooting another man to death in a Rapid City motel parking lot.

Thirty-year-old Charles Birdshead is on trial for manslaughter in the Jan. 7 death of 33-year-old Eustacio Maruffo at the South Dakota Rose Inn.

Authorities on both sides made their closing arguments to the jury on Monday. Defense attorney Jamy Patterson said Birdshead was lured to the motel for a beating and acted in self-defense. Prosecutor Mark Vargo said Birdshead knew what he was doing when he took a shotgun to the motel that night with the intent to sell drugs, and that Maruffo's death was not justifiable.

The jury deliberated for more than six hours Monday before leaving for the night about 10:30 p.m.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.