Defendant Attempts to Fire Attorney, Represent Himself on Day Two of Murder Trial

Randolph T. Graham, the Winlock man accused of murdering his neighbor Randy Lester on May 23, announced just before his trial resumed Thursday morning that he wanted to fire his attorney, David Arcuri, and represent himself in the case — a request ultimately denied by Judge Andrew Toynbee.

Graham made his announcement on the second day of his trial in the shooting death, before the jury took their seats. Graham was displeased, he said, with how Arcuri had handled his defense the day before and with the amount of time the two have spent together building his case.

Graham is accused of fatally shooting Randy Lester multiple times while he played basketball at the end of his driveway with his son. The incident was allegedly prompted by a number of contentious issues between the neighbors, including a split electric bill for a shared well, placement of a car and basketball hoop in a shared easement and the shooting of Graham’s pet rabbits.

Thursday morning — Graham’s 59th birthday — in Lewis County Superior Court, Graham raised a concern about Arcuri’s general silence the day before. Arcuri cross-examined two of 10 witnesses called on by Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Paul Masiello and Will Halstead. Graham went on, calling the case the state was making “out of line.”

He also briefly mentioned that he had information that would prove a Fortune 500 company was “incinerating ancient remains,” but didn’t go into specifics.

Arcuri said to Toynbee that he was caught off guard by his client’s request, adding that their relationship had been positive. Arcuri said it would be damaging to Graham if he represented himself.

Toynbee asked Graham if he had any prior legal training. Graham said he had taken some classes about 20 years prior, and had no formal training.

Toynbee denied Graham’s request, saying he doubted the defendant sufficiently understood the process, particularly when it came to the exclusion of certain evidence that had been ruled inadmissible during previous hearings.

Toynbee also vouched for Arcuri, saying that they’ve known each other for more than 20 years and his silence represents a legal strategy. That strategy might not be immediately notable to the layperson, said Toynbee, but those familiar with law likely recognize what Arcuri was doing, calling it “wise and effective”.

Toynbee also said he was unwilling to call a mistrial or delay the ongoing proceedings for the request.

The issue didn’t come up again for the rest of Thursday’s proceedings, which included further testimony from Randy Lester’s wife, Rachel Lester, who was home the day her husband was killed. Also interviewed were a series of law enforcement officers who were on the scene just off Meier Road in Winlock where the victim and the suspect resided as next-door neighbors.

Notably, Rachel Lester said she found out about her husband’s death when her son, Hunter Lester, 15 at the time of the shooting, came running inside and called 911. She had been in the master bedroom watching TV when she heard the shots ring out, and her son running through a back door.

She saw Graham’s truck outside and her husband’s body near the end of the driveway, she said.

Shortly after she reported seeing Graham’s truck parked back at his home next door and him walking into the house with a gait she described as “nonchalant.”

Later, she would report going outside and screaming in the direction of Graham’s house: “Why, why, why did you kill my husband, why?”

When Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies started arriving on scene, Rachel Lester and her son were told to stay in the master bedroom while the scene was secured. Rachel Lester said her second son was out of town competing at a high school sporting event at the time.

She described intense emotional stress and trauma she and her sons have experienced since.

“When you lose your spouse, you kind of lose your identity,” she said.

A string of Lewis County first responders took the stand. Medical personnel reported finding no sign of life on Randy Lester’s body. Deputies reported surrounding Graham’s house, ensuring no one entered or left.

Lewis County Regional SWAT team members said they broke in the suspect’s front door, and sent in a remote control robot from Thurston County law enforcement with audio and video capabilities. The robot showed no signs of activity in the house. They sent it in again to check the garage area. Again, numerous SWAT members reported, finding no sign of life.

A closed door inside was likely the master bedroom, they reported thinking at the time. Members moved to one of the house’s sides and used a tool to shatter the window and move the blinds out of the way. Using a mirror on a long handle, reflecting a flashlight beam from another member’s rifle to illuminate the dark room, they caught a glimpse of Graham laying on his side on the floor. He was motionless except for a slight twitch on his hand, said SWAT member Brady Taylor.

The team went into the house, and Taylor said he used a ram to break in the bedroom door.

SWAT member Chad Withrow was one of the first in the door, he said, and saw a handgun underneath Graham’s leg. He retrieved the gun, unloaded it and said he stayed with it in the kitchen while the rest of the team worked with Graham.

SWAT member Ezra Anderson reported giving Graham two nasal passage-administered doses of the opioid overdose-reversing drug Narcan. This seemed to rouse the mostly unresponsive Graham, he said.

Paramedic Justin Wilkey testified that Graham said in the ambulance ride that he had taken “a handful of morphine.”

He was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital and then to Olympia’s Capital Medical Center. That’s where he stayed from May 24 until May 29 under supervision of Lewis County deputies. He was transported from there to the Lewis County Jail.

Sheriff’s Office Detective Jeff Humphrey obtained audio from three 911 calls from Meier Road that night. One was made by Hunter Lester at 8:15 p.m., the second from a neighbor who saw Randy Lester’s body in the driveway and called it in at 8:18 p.m.

The third was from Graham, seven minutes later. The audio was played for the jury.

A person verbally identifying himself as Graham advised the dispatcher that he was experiencing health problems. He also said he got into a “big fight” with his neighbor, adding dispatchers might want to send two ambulances.

The man said he was having trouble breathing and chest pain. When talking to the operator he again brings up the fight with his neighbor.

“I shot the f****** a******,” he said.

The dispatcher asked him where the weapon was.

“It’s right here in my hand,” he replied.

The last testimony of the day was from forensic pathologist Emmanuel Lacsina, who conducted the autopsy on Randy Lester’s body.

There were three bullets inside the body when he went to work, he said. A fourth injury indicated another bullet passed right through.

Lacsina said a bullet, likely the last one to hit Randy Lester, entered the back of his head near the base of the skull, travelled through the brain damaging various parts including the vital midbrain and medulla and stopped at the front of his head, on the forehead. Lacsina reported he could physically feel the bullet’s protrusion on his forehead.

Death from this injury would be quite immediate, he said.

Another bullet — likely the first to hit Randy Lester — hit the right side of his chest and passed through his body.

Two more rounds hit him in the back, one on either side of the spine.

Throughout the trial, Arcuri declined to cross-examine any of the witnesses.

Graham was initially charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and drive-by shooting. During the course of the investigation, the charges were amended to first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, drive-by shooting, manufacture of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance.

Neither of the drug charges have had much mention during the trial. Charging documents indicate Graham was in possession of more than 40 grams of marijuana.