Man on Trial in Rapid City Motel Shooting Death
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Prosecutor Mark Vargo says a man accused of shooting another man to death in a Rapid City motel parking lot brought a sawed-off shotgun with him when he went to the motel to deal drugs, showing he was ready to kill.
Defense attorney Jamy Patterson says 30-year-old Charles Birdshead was set up and acted in self-defense.
The two attorneys gave opening statements to a jury Tuesday in the trial of Birdshead, who is charged with felony manslaughter in the Jan. 7 death of 33-year-old Eustacio Maruffo at the South Dakota Rose Inn.
The trial is scheduled to last into early next week.
Birdshead also faces a separate trial for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a teenager.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.