Closing arguments heard in Harapat trial

PALMER -- Either Shane Harapat thought he was being safe when he went to uncock a loaded revolver and hand it to his friend, Kenny Alcantra, or he was consciously trying to scare Alcantra by pointing the gun at him.

This is how attorneys in the Harapat murder trial cast the facts during closing arguments last week in Palmer Superior Court.

On Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, defense attorneys Jim Gilmore and Jeff Carney framed the case as a tragic accident, while Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak claimed it was a case of recklessness, negligence and conscious disregard for human life.

After deliberating Thursday afternoon and all day Friday, the jury still had not reached a verdict going into the weekend.

Harapat's attorney, Jim Gilmore, captured the essence of the case in his closing argument. He said the jury has to get into Harapat's mind because the case hinges on the question of intent.

The criminal charges against Harapat make intent the central question in this case. Harapat is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

In order to convict for manslaughter, the jury must find Harapat was reckless in his actions insofar as he was aware of a substantial risk to Alcantra's life, but chose to disregard it.

In order to convict for second-degree murder, the jury must find Harapat was so reckless in his actions that he manifested an extreme indifference to the value of human life.

The basic facts, at least, are undisputed. The night of Feb. 5, 2003, Kenny Alcantra came over to the Harapat home to visit Shane. As they sat on his bed talking, Harapat took out his loaded .44-caliber Magnum revolver and began to play with it.

After a few minutes, Alcantra asked to see the pistol but somehow it went off and a bullet ripped through Alcantra's lungs and heart, killing him.

Throughout the trial, the defense insisted the revolver went off as Harapat was trying to uncock it and hand it to Alcantra. Prosecutors argued Harapat was engaging in gunplay and pointed the loaded gun at Alcantra to scare him.

During his closing argument, Gilmore claimed the prosecution had put together a case built on emotion, speculation and conjecture. He told jurors Harapat thought he was being safe when he tried to hand the revolver to Alcantra that night. He was not even aware his actions were putting Alcantra's life in jeopardy, and so he could not have consciously chosen to ignore the risks.

"Shane Harapat thought it was safe to hand the gun to Kenny Alcantra in that way and that's what he was trying to do, that was his intent," Gilmore said in his closing argument. "You've got to be sure, at the end of the day, that you don't convict him of a crime he didn't commit."

Kalytiak said the defense's entire case rested on statements made by Harapat to troopers the night of the shooting, and in order to believe the defense's theory, jurors must assume Harapat was being truthful.

But Kalytiak claimed Harapat was inconsistent in his statements to troopers and that those statements do not support the theory that an accident involving an uncocking of the gun caused Kenny Alcantra's death.

"The fact that you shouldn't point a loaded gun at someone is something you don't have to stop and think about," Kalytiak said. "Shane knew the risks, he had received gun safety training, but he chose to disregard those risks. The bottom line in this case is that Kenny Alcantra was killed because Shane decided to play with a gun."

Harapat was once a member of the Palmer High School varsity rifle team, where he received formal gun safety training.

Jeff Carney, the attorney representing Roger and Judy Harapat, used a Power Point presentation set to music during his closing argument. Roger and Judy Harapat, Shane's parents, are being charged with reckless endangerment for creating an unsafe environment in their home.

Carney argued that Roger and Judy Harapat were not reckless, and if they had been aware of a risk to Alcantra they would have taken steps to address it.

"Kenny Alcantra was like a son to them," Carney said. "This has been a real tragedy for the Harapats, just as much as it has been for the Alcantras."

Members of Alcantra's family, including his parents, Joseph and Miranda, were present in the courtroom Thursday, and tears welled in their eyes at times during the closing arguments.

In his closing rebuttal, Kalytiak accused the defense of downplaying the severity of Harapat's actions.

"The defense was whitewashing this incident during their closing arguments," Kalytiak said. "The music was meant to distract you from the fact that someone got a .44-caliber hole in them … Think of Kenny Alcantra, the person who was killed at the age of 16. He deserves a verdict from you that reflects the truth."

The jury will resume its deliberations Monday morning.

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com.