Closing arguments in Forestville pot deal triple slaying

The lawyer for a Colorado man accused of being the gunman in a 2013 triple slaying in Forestville during a marijuana deal said Wednesday during closing arguments in the trial that his client was not at the rural cabin when the shootings took place.

Mark Cappello, 49, of Central City, Colo., has been charged with three counts of murder in the Feb. 5, 2013, killings of three men involved in arranging the drug deal: former Sebastopol resident Raleigh Butler, 24; Todd Klarkowski, 43, of Boulder, Colo.; and stockbroker and investor Richard Lewin, 46, of Huntington, N.Y.

Competing theories about when the killings took place played out in court Wednesday, with lead prosecutor Spencer Brady arguing that Cappello was motivated by greed and mounting debts when he shot the three men, who were on their knees packaging the pot when they were killed.

“This was the exact opportune moment Mark Cappello was waiting for,” Brady said.

Closing arguments followed a two-month trial during which prosecutors presented detailed cellphone records, physical evidence and witnesses, arguing that Cappello duped all involved in the pot deal, including the two men he had hired to help him drive the drugs to the East Coast.

The men, Francis Raymond Dwyer, 68, of Truth or Consequences, N.M., and his son, Odin Leonard Dwyer, 41, of Black Hawk, Colo., offered key testimony in support of Cappello's guilt. They testified against Cappello in exchange for admitting to lesser charges.

Cappello's attorney, Joe Stog-ner, said that prosecutors ignored evidence that could free his client and relied too heavily on testimony by the Dwyers, who had something to gain from testifying against Cappello.

“Is this really a search for truth or is this a search for conviction?” Stogner said of the investigation.

The defense theory depends on disagreement about the time of the shooting. The prosecution estimated the time of the killings at 11 a.m., but two defense witnesses suggest it happened an hour later, when cellphone records indicate Cappello was at his Santa Rosa Avenue hotel.

The deal involved about $250,000 in cash and as much as 80 pounds of marijuana.

But it was supposed to be a much larger amount - about 1,500 pounds of pot - which prosecutors argued also potentially pushed Cappello to the brink.

“This deal was smaller than the deal he'd been promised, and he'd been screwed over before,” Brady said.

He described the Dwyers as “day laborers” hired by Cappello.

The Dwyers told investigators that Cappello was calling the shots from the start. They claimed they didn't know about Cappello's plan to shoot Butler, Klarkowski and Lewin.

Odin Dwyer led detectives to several remote locations in Sonoma County where he and his father had discarded evidence - such as Cappello's bloody clothes, parts of his vehicle and a gun. They told detectives they dumped the items at Cappello's command.

“Who was giving orders and who was taking orders in this case?” Brady said.

Brady said Cappello was an “expert at deception” and took steps like cleaning the gun with alcohol in an attempt to avoid detection.

Stogner asked the jury to consider the agenda of the Dwyers, who are related and had something to gain from testifying against Cappello.

A crowd of about 40 people nearly filled the Sonoma County Superior Court gallery, from family members of the victims to people interested in the case, which shined a chilling light on the violence evident in the illegal drug trade.

Butler's mother, Leslie King, and her supporters have been present nearly every day of the trial.

“It's been a long eight weeks,” King said outside the courtroom.

Klarkowski's sister, Laura Nelson of San Diego, drove through the night to make it to Wednesday's closing arguments. She said she and her brother were each other's only siblings. They were just 18 months apart.

Ray Noll, a Catholic deacon with the Diocese of Santa Rosa who has been ministering to Cappello in jail, also was present Wednesday.

Shalimar Downing of Sebastopol said her son had grown up with Butler. She's attended every day of the trial, filling four notebooks with notes, to show support for his mother and also to “bear witness” to the criminal justice process in a case that has been difficult for her community.

“Raleigh was a shining star, he had a lot of friends,” Downing said during a break.

The hearing continues Thursday.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.