A war zone.

That's what it sounded like to witnesses as Jerrico D. Lindsey fatally shot Benjamin Grajeda 12 times with a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol in the middle of a street in Kaneohe in 2007, said Deputy Prosecutor Darrell Wong yesterday in Circuit Court.

“;Pah, pah, pah, pah, pah!”; shouted Wong in front of the jury as he pointed his finger and thumb in the air, pretending to fire a barrage of shots.

Attorneys made opening statements in Lindsey's jury trial on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, kidnapping, first-degree burglary, terroristic threatening and firearm offenses.

While Wong pointed to Lindsey as the lone gunman who shot Grajeda, attorney William Harrison, representing Lindsey, said the shooter was William L. Freeman Jr., one of the three men involved in a botched robbery that led to the shooting.

“;There's no direct objective evidence to suggest that my client committed this offense,”; he said.

  Trial Begins For Jerrico Lindsey

 

The case opened against Jerrico Lindsey, the alleged gunman in a shooting on Kaneohe Bay Drive over 2 years ago.

[ Watch ]

 

Wong said the shooting was triggered by a love triangle between Lindsey, Grajeda and Melissa Ordonez. On the night of May 14, 2007, Ordonez sent Grajeda on an errand and arranged for Lindsey, Freeman and Reginald Pettway to steal drugs and money from him while he was gone—a scheme plotted by Ordonez, Wong said.

But the plan went awry when Grajeda arrived home early. The three men pummeled him and placed him in the trunk of a white 2001 Crown Victoria. But Grajeda managed to escape after Freeman pulled the trunk release, Wong said.

Lindsey then shot him “;execution style”; on Kaneohe Bay Drive as witnesses watched. Grajeda suffered eight gunshot wounds to his back and four gunshot wounds to the front of his body. Wong said gunshot residue was detected on Lindsey's black shirt.

The fatal shooting followed a shooting a few days earlier when Grajeda shot at Lindsey and the two other men while they were in a car, Wong said. Grajeda warned Lindsey to leave Ordonez alone.

Harrison also pointed out that Freeman became angry after Grajeda shot at the vehicle he and the two men were in during the earlier shooting, telling them, “;No (expletive) is going to fire at me.”;

After his arrest, Harrison said Freeman told a detective he shot Grajeda. Also, a witness picked someone in a lineup who does not look like Lindsey but possibly resembles Freeman.

Harrison added that both Freeman and Pettway made an agreement with the state to testify that Lindsey was the shooter. “;They're going to cover each other's back,”; said Harrison, describing Freeman and Pettway as close friends.

Freeman pleaded guilty last year to kidnapping and hindering prosecution. Pettway pleaded guilty last month to second-degree robbery and kidnapping. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month.