Jury Prepares to Deliberate in Homicide Trial

Thursday, September 18 2014

Update, 5 p.m. Thursday: Lawyers made their closing arguments in the homicide trial Thursday afternoon. Jurors will now begin trying to reach a verdict on two counts each of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault for Leonardo Bongolto, Jr. and Denison Soria.

In his final statements, state prosecutor James Fayette told the jury, "All the causation of the death is the fight," saying that no evidence in the trial had contradicted that. He claimed the defendants had "preexisting aggression" toward the man who died.

Defense attorneys said Fayette hadn't proven either of those things. They implored the jury not to trust the state's witnesses, saying nothing had shown the defendants meant to cause serious harm in the fight that allegedly killed Jonathan Adams in February 2012. And they said the state hadn't proved Adams' injuries in the fight were the actual cause of his death. 

Soria's attorney, Paul Maslakowski, reminded the jury of testimony from a bunkhouse resident, who was nearby the night of the alleged fight. That man had described Soria as "a nice guy," and said it hadn't seemed to him like a fight was premeditated. 

And Bongolto's attorney, James Ferguson, reiterated part of his opening arguments, saying, "Bad accidents are not murder or assault." Bongolto appeared to be crying as his attorney spoke. 

Fayette, the state prosecutor, argued this case wasn't an accident. "Sometimes people do bad things, and they get caught," he said.

Three jurors were excused as alternates after lawyers finished their arguments Thursday afternoon. The remaining 12 jurors will begin deliberating Friday morning.


Update, 12 p.m. Wednesday: Jurors heard the last of the evidence in a homicide trial in Unalaska Wednesday morning. They'll hear closing arguments from attorneys Thursday, before they start working on reaching verdicts.

Over the past week, jurors have heard testimony from an eyewitness, along with several police officers and medical officials involved with the case.

Attorneys have shown the jury photos of Adams' injuries and the bunkhouse deck where the alleged fight took place. They've also played audio recordings of first responders' attempts to revive Adams at the scene using CPR, as well as the eyewitness' initial call to public safety. 

Both defendants told the judge today that they did not want to give their own testimony. Soria spoke through a Tagalog interpreter, with several of his family members present in the courtroom. Bongolto answered Judge Patricia Douglass' questions in English.

Jurors will hear attorneys' final arguments and get instructions for making their deliberations on Thursday. The trial is set to continue through this week.

Related: Testimony Begins in Murder Trial (Sept. 10, 2014)



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