PORT ANGELES — A Clallam County jury has convicted a Port Townsend man of first-degree manslaughter in the death of a Sequim man following a confrontation in a Safeway parking lot last spring.
Jurors returned the verdict Thursday in Clallam County Superior Court finding 37-year-old Aaron Fisher guilty in the death of 70-year-old Richard Madeo.
The case stems from a May 6th altercation in the Sequim Safeway parking lot. According to trial testimony and police reports, an argument escalated after a traffic-related encounter between the two men. Fisher admitted striking Madeo, who fell to the ground, suffered severe head injuries, and died two days later.
The King County Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide.
The defense argued Fisher acted in self defense and that Madeo had initiated the altercation, ultimately driving aggressively at Fisher. Prosecutors argued that surveillance video and witness accounts showed Fisher used excessive force in the altercation.
Fisher faces a prison range of seven to nine and a half years. It could be reduced by one third for good behavior. Sentencing is scheduled for March 31st.