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Cop-shooter�s lawyer seeks lesser charge Sanchez-Llamas� attempted murder trial under way By Jessica Smith The defense for Moises Sanchez-Llamas doesn�t dispute that he fired guns at two Medford police officers, injuring one, in an early morning shoot-out more than a year ago. But an attorney representing Sanchez-Llamas questions whether the 27-year-old man should be tried this week on two counts of attempted aggravated murder, among other charges. "He did do something wrong. There�s no question about that," attorney Bob Abel said Tuesday, the first of a seven-day trial. "We are questioning what, in fact, did he do wrong?" In his opening statements to a jur of 12 members and two alternates, Abel said he wants the six men and eight women to "interpret in (their) own minds what crime has been committed" and determine whether a lesser charge is appropriate. Attempted aggravated murder is a Measure 11 offense. Under the state�s mandatory-minimum sentencing guidelines, Sanchez-Llamas would be sentenced to 10 years in prison if convicted on a single count. Sanchez-Llamas has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder charges. He is accused of firing at Medford police officers Scott Clauson and Mike Strouse in a brief gun battle the morning of Dec. 18, 1999. The officers were among several called to a domestic dispute at a home on South Columbus Avenue, off Prune Street. According to Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston, who is prosecuting the case, Clauson and Strouse encountered Sanchez-Llamas in the rear of the Columbus Avenue duplex and ordered him to drop the two guns he was carrying. Sanchez-Llamas didn�t comply, Huddleston said. Instead, the man allegedly fired six rounds at the officers. Though Clauson and Strouse returned fire at Sanchez-Llamas, he was unharmed. A bullet from one of Sanchez-Llamas� guns, however, struck Clauson in the right leg, shattering his femur in eight places. Surgery and physical therapy helped put Clauson � the first Medford officer shot in 67 years � back on the streets last month. The jury is expected to hear testimony from Strouse and Clauson later this week. Sanchez-Llamas apparently went to the Columbus Avenue duplex to find his then-girlfriend, Kristi Lee Whitehead, 24. The duplex occupants told Sanchez-Llamas that Whitehead wasn�t there, but he forced his way inside, Huddleston said. Officers responded when Medford dispatchers received two 911 calls from witnesses who said Sanchez-Llamas was armed. In addition to attempted aggravated murder, Sanchez-Llamas is charged with one count of first-degree assault, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, one count of resisting arrest, two counts of first-degree burglary with a firearm, one count of menacing, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, and one count of unlawful possession of a short-barreled shotgun. Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.