MOUNT VERNON, Wash — More than two and a half years after the shooting of a beloved Mount Vernon police officer, his alleged attacker is finally going to trial.
Ernesto Lee Rivas, 47, is accused of shooting officer Michael "Mick" McClaughry in December 2016. The bullet hit McClaughry in the head and left him blind.
Prosecutors said gang member Rivas opened fire as McLaughry knocked on his door to ask about a gang shooting that happened earlier that day.
"Officer McLaughry says, 'Ernie we just want to talk to you.' He turns away and looks down and just as he's looking, he's shot," said Deputy Prosecutor Rosemary Kaholokula in her opening statements.
Koholakula said Rivas later admitted to the shooting while calling friends and family members during a five-hour standoff with police.
"He communicated with a relative of his, called her in the midst of it. She told law enforcement, 'He told me he shot a cop in the head,'" explained Kaholokula.
But Rivas's attorneys said he didn't pull the trigger at all.
They painted a picture of a family man who was no longer actively involved in gang life. They said he is a man who had actually worked with police and the mayor on issues related to the Latino community.
"He was trying to do good things with his life," said Defense Attorney Jason Smith. "He was trying to go straight."
Smith told jurors one of the teenagers involved in the earlier shooting was hiding out in Rivas's home, and that he was the one who actually shot officer McLaughry.
"Ernesto tried to stop him from shooting but was unable to do so. This was brought upon him, this nightmare at his house," said Smith.
The trial is expected to last four to six weeks. Officer McLaughry will likely testify. Surveillance video of the shooting is also expected to be played in court.