An ex-convict on trial for allegedly shooting a man to death on a southwest Santa Rosa street testified Wednesday that the victim's brother pulled the gun on him and it went off during a struggle.
Latroy Clinton Sr., 41, of Santa Rosa, said he was being beaten by the victim, Oscar Valencia, 23, after arriving home late at night and finding the man and three friends outside his house.
Clinton said Valencia's older brother, Jamie, and their friend, Miguel Ceja, joined in, pounding him with punches and kicks. Jaime Valencia drew a pistol and the gun discharged when Clinton took it away from him, he said.
The bullet struck Oscar Valencia in the face, killing him.
"I grabbed it and it popped," said Clinton, his voice cracking with emotion through parts of his testimony.
Clinton said he aimed the chrome revolver at the others before running to his nearby van and screeching off. He said he didn't see Oscar Valencia fall but figured he was hurt.
"From the way his brother was looking I could see it was bad," Clinton testified.
Clinton fled down Highway 101 in his van, leading police on a high-speed chase. His car was disabled by spike strips in Marin County and he was arrested after hiding in a tree and trying to steal a car from a passerby, police said.
The gun was found along the highway.
His lawyer, Walter Rubenstein, suggested Clinton fled because of his long criminal record. Clinton faces a life prison term if convicted of any violent or serious felony under the state's three strikes sentencing law.
But his account of what happened on that night in June 2011 differed sharply from reports by some of the other men.
They testified they were bringing home women they had just met at a downtown nightclub and were waiting for them to come back outside when Clinton arrived and began arguing with a member of their group whom he knew.
When Oscar Valencia tried to intervene, the witnesses said Clinton went into his girlfriend's house and came out with a gun. He walked up to Valencia and shot him, witnesses said.
A neighbor who looked out his window upon hearing some shouting testified that he saw a man pointing a gun at someone before a shot was fired.
On Wednesday, Clinton denied ever going into the house, saying he was engaged in a physical struggle with Valencia from the time he pulled up until the gunshot.
"I didn't go in the house, period," he said.
But prosecutor Troye Shaffer pointed to a phone conversation Clinton had with his girlfriend after his arrest in which he said he was ringing the door bell, trying to get her attention. Witnesses said Clinton smoked a cigarette outside her door after an altercation with the men.
Also, Shaffer pointed out Clinton suffered no injuries despite a claim of being beaten to the ground by the younger man he described as "really strong."
Clinton insisted he was the victim and acted only in self-defense.
"I never hurt nobody in no way, shape or form," Clinton said.
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