WAILUKU — When Mark A. Martins fired dozens of shots outside a Kula residence last year, his aim was clear, a deputy prosecutor said Wednesday.

"Randy was the target of this defendant's uncontrollable rage," Deputy Prosecutor Carson Tani said, referring to victim Francis "Randy" Randall. "This defendant wanted to kill Randy."

But defense attorney Don Wilkerson said Martins was shooting at a white van that was blocking his truck, not at the men who were drinking beers and grilling steaks outside, The Maui News reported today.

"He wasn't trying to kill anybody. He wasn't trying to hurt anybody," Wilkerson said. "He was crying out in anger. He was taking it out on this property."

After hearing closing arguments Wednesday afternoon, a 2nd Circuit Court jury was to begin deliberating today in the case.

Martins, 55, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, including first-degree attempted murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, in connection with the shooting the night of May 2, 2007, at the property on Kula Highway about 1 mile past Rice Park.

Martins was a tenant in a one-bedroom apartment adjacent to a unit occupied by Randall, 45, whose mother owns the one-acre property with a cluster of residences.

Both Tani and Wilkerson asked jurors to look at the physical evidence, including photographs and a police diagram showing where 36 shell casings and four live rounds were found outside the residence. Inside Martins' unit, police found 19 bullet holes from shots fired into the wall and a water heater adjacent to Randall's unit, Tani said.

But Wilkerson said police photographs showed some holes that weren't from bullets but from fasteners for a kitchen shelf. He said no photos showed the other side of the wall or the water heater that witnesses said the bullets penetrated.

"These charges are outrageous," Wilkerson said. "The testimony has been that Mr. Martins has suffered for a period of time from the abuse of Randy."

According to testimony during the trial, Martins had asked those at the barbecue to move their vehicles so he could maneuver his truck out of the driveway. One man moved a car that was parked behind Martins' truck, but Randall refused to move his white van, saying there was enough room. Martins went back inside before emerging a few minutes later and saying he wasn't going out after all.

Twenty to 30 minutes later, witnesses said, Martins came out again and began shooting with a semiautomatic handgun.

One witness recalled Martins saying, "See what you made me do, Randy," Tani said.

"That's what this defendant yelled at Randy just before he pointed the gun right at Randy's chest," Tani said.

He said one bullet grazed Randall's inner right thigh and another grazed his left shoulder before he grabbed his chair and got up, crouching. Martins continued shooting, hitting Randall in his left elbow, which was where his body would have been if he hadn't moved, Tani said.

He said Martins fired more shots while Randall tried to hide behind the van. When the gun misfired, Randall took a last sip of his beer before throwing the bottle at Martins, who screamed as he was hit in the chest, Tani said.

As Randall crouched and ran in a zigzag pattern toward the main residence where his mother and son were, Martins went to the back of the van and continued firing, Tani said, accounting for three shell casings found in the bed of Martins' truck.

Randall had testified he heard bullets whizzing by as he ran to warn his mother and then a neighbor.

"The defendant is still upset at Randy," Tani said. "The only reason he got away is because the defendant is a bad shot and his gun misfired."

While Tani said Martins fired while tracking Randall's movements, Wilkerson said photos of bullet holes in the van showed they were angled down from the back to the front of the van while Randall ran from the front to back.

After firing from two high-capacity magazines that held 18 bullets each, Martins went inside and fired into the wall adjacent to the unit where Randall's half brother Jason Bass was sleeping, Tani said. Bass testified he got up after hearing what sounded like baseball bats hitting the wall and was eventually led to his injured brother in a neighbor's yard.

Bass testified he went back up the driveway to confront Martins, who fired four shots.

In his closing arguments to jurors, Wilkerson said Martins, Bass and other prosecution witnesses lied.

"Everybody who came up there lied in one way or another," Wilkerson said.

He said Martins was reckless but didn't act intentionally, as jurors would have to find to convict him of an attempted murder charge.

"He did not intend to do any harm to anybody," Wilkerson said. "He wasn't thinking. He was mad, and he was acting out, but he was not acting intentionally or knowingly."

Police found a Glock pistol and two magazines capable of holding up to 19 rounds each on a table in Martins' residence, Tani said.

If Martins had complaints about the way Randall treated him, Martins could have moved, Tani said.

"No one deserves to be shot at," Tani said. "No one deserves to be shot."

In addition to the attempted murder counts, Martins is charged with first-degree terroristic threatening, first-degree reckless endangering, two counts of second-degree criminal property damage, using a firearm in the commission of a felony, being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of firearm ammunition and two counts of possession of a prohibited pistol magazine.

Martins has a prior felony conviction from March 2002 for keeping a loaded firearm in an improper place on a public highway.

He was originally charged with 18 counts. But Judge Joseph Cardoza told jurors the original seven counts of first-degree reckless endangering were consolidated into one count covering all of the men who were at the barbecue.

More Maui news at www.mauinews.com.