Defense Begins Monday In Triple Murder Trial In Nearby Sonoma Co.

SONOMA COUNTY, CA - The prosecution rested its case Thursday afternoon at the Sonoma County Superior Court trial of a Colorado man charged with slaying three men, including two of his business partners, during a marijuana deal in Forestville three years ago.

Testimony began Feb. 1 and the defense will begin its case Monday. Attorney Joseph Stogner has not said whether the defendant, Mark Cappello, 49, of Central City, Colorado, will testify. Stogner told the jury in his opening statement last month Cappello was not at the scene of the execution-style slaying of Raleigh Butler, 26, Todd Klarkowski, 42, and Richard Lewin, 46, in Butler's mother's cabin on Feb. 5, 2013.

Stogner said two men, Francis Dwyer, 68, of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and his son Odin Dwyer, 41, of Denver, Colorado, committed the killings. Both Dwyers testified Cappello recruited them to drive from Colorado to Forestville and transport the marijuana back to Colorado.

According to the Dwyers' testimony, Francis waited at a Santa Rosa motel while Odin and Cappello drove in Cappello's Ford Bronco to the cabin to pick up a large amount of marijuana.

Odin Dwyer testified he was in the living room and Cappello was in a back bedroom where the marijuana was being packaged for transport. Odin said he heard three successive "pops" and looked down the hall to see Cappello standing in the bedroom doorway with his arm extended and a gun in his hand.

Klarkowski, of Boulder, Colorado, Lewin, of Huntington, New York and Butler, a former Sonoma County resident who lived in the Lake Tahoe area, were shot once in the head.

Odin Dwyer testified that when he asked Cappello why he shot the men he replied, 'It was something that had to be done.' He testified he believed he would be shot next.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Spencer Brady told the jury in his opening statement the case was about greed and betrayal by Cappello of Lewin and Klarkowski, who also were buying the marijuana. Odin Dwyer testified that after the slayings, he and Cappello loaded 69 of the 100 pounds of marijuana that was in the cabin into Cappello's Ford Bronco.

The Dwyers testified they disposed of Cappello's .45-caliber handgun and bullets in a creek near Sonoma State University, and the latex gloves used to package the marijuana were hidden in a storm drain. Cappello disposed a black hood "bra" and the covering of the rear spare tire of his Bronco and his clothing, according to the Dwyers. All three returned to Colorado in two separate vehicles, and all three were arrested by March 1.

Odin Dwyer testified Cappello said he wanted $90,000 - $30,000 for each of the three men he killed - and he and Francis could keep the rest of the money from the marijuana sales.

The Dwyers also were charged with the murders, but pleaded no contest to lesser charges in May 2015 in return for lighter sentences and a promise to testify truthfully at Cappello's trial. Odin Dwyer, who pleaded no contest to 15 felony charges including three involuntary manslaughter charges and being an accessory to the murders, will be sentenced to 20 years and four months in prison. Francis Dwyer pleaded no contest to marijuana transportation and conspiracy charges.

Both men testified they were told they will serve only 50 percent of their sentences as part of the plea agreement. If convicted, Cappello faces life in prison without parole.

--Bay City News