Jury finds Fisher guilty of manslaughter

Published 3:10 pm Thursday, February 12, 2026

PORT ANGELES — A jury found Aaron C. Fisher guilty of first-degree manslaughter Thursday afternoon in Clallam County Superior Court in the death of Richard G. Madeo, 70, of Sequim.

The jury deliberated for 2½ hours before it reached its verdict about an altercation in a Sequim Safeway parking lot that occured on May 6, 2025.

Fisher, 37, faced one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree manslaughter.

Jurors could have considered the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter if they did not find him guilty of first-degree manslaughter.

Second-degree assault was not charged as a separate count but was the underlying felony alleged in the murder charge.

First-degree manslaughter is a Class A felony, punishable by up to life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine. Fisher does not have an offender score, so the standard sentencing range will be 6 1/2 years to 8 1/2 years (78 months to 102 months), Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin said.

Fisher’s sentencing hearing is set for March 31. He’s also scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 20 on two separate charges.

Fisher, who testified in his own defense on Wednesday, briefly returned to the witness stand Thursday morning before jurors heard closing arguments on the fourth day of the trial.

The case was tried before Superior Court Judge Brent Basden.

In her initial closing argument, Devlin methodically walked jurors through the technical elements of the charged crimes, referring repeatedly to the written jury instructions and the state’s burden to prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt.

She told jurors the case was “about the rage and anger of the defendant against Mr. Madeo.”

“The defendant threw the first punch. The defendant threw the only punch,” Devlin said, arguing the case was not one of self-defense.

Devlin pointed to stipulated facts that Fisher’s actions were the proximate cause of Madeo’s death and to medical findings describing blunt-force head injuries and brain hemorrhaging.

Defense attorney Lane Wolfley delivered a closing argument rooted in common-sense framing rather than legal analysis, portraying Fisher as a working man who was not looking for a fight but found himself in a sudden confrontation.

Fisher had described Madeo in his testimony Wednesday as nearly hitting him and a companion as they walked past the Safeway gas station in Sequim on their way to the grocery store. He testified that Madeo’s truck approached them at a high rate of speed and that he struck the driver’s side mirror, which fell to the ground.

Fisher said Madeo then got out of the truck, shoved him and that he responded with a punch — actions that Wolfley argued were lawful self-defense.

Wolfley described the death as “an unfortunate, hurtful, heartbreaking event,” but not a crime.

He emphasized that Fisher did not use a weapon, did not strike Madeo multiple times and did not continue the altercation after the punch, arguing the force used was limited and reasonable under the circumstances.

“There weren’t two hits. There weren’t three hits,” Wolfley said.

Wolfley reminded jurors that state law imposes no duty to retreat and allows a person to use lawful force if they reasonably believe they are about to be injured.

“He did what instinctively, I think, almost any man would have done under the circumstance,” Wolfley said.

In the state’s rebuttal, Devlin returned to discrepancies in Fisher’s statements to law enforcement and his testimony on the stand.

Among the evidence she referenced were surveillance videos from nearby businesses showing a partially obscured view of the encounter, as well as law enforcement body-worn camera footage of on-scene questioning of Fisher, which wasn’t a formal interview.

She highlighted Fisher’s shifting descriptions of the moments that led to the punch, and she reminded jurors that he first told officers that Madeo had “shoved” him, later said he was “pushed” and at trial testified about seeing fists and feeling a hand around his neck.

“I ask you, which story is it?” Devlin said.

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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.