THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 23, 1996 TAG: 9605230413
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 84 lines
Defense attorneys for alleged murderer Josh Hilliard Cathey asked for a mistrial Wednesday after testimony from a Marine wounded in the shooting last July in a Kill Devil Hills house.
Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett took the request under advisement, and the trial continued.
Cathey, 22, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his housemate, 22-year old Matthew Addelman. Marine Lance Cpl. Carlos Bonafonte, 23, was wounded in the shooting.
Attorney G. Irvin Aldridge moved for the mistrial during Bonafonte's testimony. Bonafonte said that while standing in an upstairs hallway at the Glider Court residence he saw Cathey point a 9mm pistol at Addelman. He said he got a candy dish out of an upstairs bedroom and threw it at Cathey, hitting him in the head. Cathey responded by firing at Bonafonte, wounding him in the elbow and in the buttock.
Bonafonte testified that the barrel of the semi-automatic weapon was about one foot away from Addelman before the first shot was fired.
Out of the presence of the eight-man, four-woman jury, Aldridge said that Wednesday marked the first time the defense was aware that Bonafonte had seen Cathey point the gun at Addelman, a 22-year-old waiter at Carolina Seafood.
Aldridge contended that the testimony was highly prejudicial, and would deny his client the right to a fair trial. He said prosecutors did not make the defense team aware of Bonafonte's testimony, in violation of rules governing the exchange of evidence between both sides.
Bonafonte said that when he initially talked to police within days of the shooting, he did not recall seeing Cathey point the gun at Addelman. Only after extensive psychotherapy, he said, was he able to remember fully what occurred the night he was shot.
Aldridge told Tillett that merely asking the jury to strike Bonafonte's testimony would not be enough.
``It's already in the minds of 12 people,'' Aldridge said.``Even if you strike it, there's no way to get it out of their minds.''
Tillett said he would rule later on the request.
Before the jury was sent out of the courtroom, Bonafonte recounted what he saw in the predawn hours of July 22.
``I saw Mr. Cathey and Matthew standing about three feet apart,'' Bonafonte said. ``I took a candy dish off a nightstand in case he pulled a gun out. (Cathey) had the gun and was pointing it at Matthew. Matthew asked him what he was going to do with that gun. Mr. Cathey cocked the gun and put a round in the chamber.''
Bonafonte said that he then aimed the jar at Cathey's arm and threw it, hitting him in the head.
``He pointed the gun at me, and I turned and ran into the bedroom. I heard some shots, and I felt a warm, tingly feeling in my arm.''
Bonafonte then identified Cathey as the man who shot him.
The defense claims that Cathey feared for his life, and that he shot Addelman in self-defense. The two housemates had been in a dispute about unpaid rent and deposit money, and Addelman asked Bonafonte and three other Marines to help him evict Cathey from the two-story house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.
However, Bonafonte and Lance Cpl. Rob North, testified that they did not touch or harm Cathey in any way. They also said that Addelman did not offer them money to help remove Cathey.
``He asked us to help,'' Bonafonte said. ``He seemed like he needed help. He asked us to help him move some stuff out.''
Bonafonte testified that he had lost full use of his right hand because of the shooting. The Gaithersburg, Md., native said he was in the process of receiving a medical discharge from the Marines.
In other testimony, Lance Cpl. Jeff Walker said he went upstairs with Addelman and the three Marines, and that he took Cathey's bags outside the home. Once outside the house, he said he heard five or six shots, from what he thought was the rear of the home.
But after returning to the front of the house, he saw a bloody Cathey pointing a pistol at him, and that he heard the defendant chuckling.
``I ran out of there,'' Walker said.
Amy Wilson, a 23-year-old who shared the home with Addelman, Cathey and another woman, testified she was in her bedroom when she heard three pops in succession, then two single pops. She walked out of the room to find Addelman on the floor, face down.
Then, she said Cathey said to her, ``Go back to bed, Amy.''
``He wasn't angry,'' she said. ``He just seemed like he was exasperated with me.''
Wilson testified that Cathey and Addelman had clashed over an electricity deposit, and over noise in the house. She said, however, that she had never seen the two physically attack each other in a dispute.
Prosecution testimony is expected to conclude today. by CNB