Gierlach said Woita had demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Awana rushed Woita in a small room at the O'ahu Avenue house, the two struggled over the gun and the weapon went off, the attorney said.

But city Deputy Prosecutor Glenn Kim told the jury that Woita was shot three times in the head with a gun that a firearm expert will say requires a pull on the trigger for each shot. Kim said Awana killed Woita and later dumped the body in the waters off Kane'ohe Bay.

Woita's body has not been found.

The trial before Circuit Judge Steve Alm underscores the violence that can erupt over profits from marijuana operations.

Awana, 39, was a medical examiner investigator at the time of the shooting and also had worked as a deputy sheriff. He is accused of killing Woita, 28, torching the car Woita had driven, disposing of the marijuana after the shooting, and dumping the body and gun. The weapon also has never been found.

The trial hinges on Awana's statements to police and what happened when the defendant and Woita were alone in that two-story house the evening of Aug. 29 last year.

No one disputes that Awana and Woita agreed in 2001 to set up a marijuana growing enterprise, but Awana, a Kailua resident, later pulled out of the deal and established his own operation at the Manoa house.

Kim told the jury that after Awana was arrested, he told police that Woita felt cheated when he found out about marijuana growing operation in Manoa and insisted on seeing the house.

Once there, Awana said Woita became really upset, demanding money and threatening Awana and his family, according to Kim.

Awana told police that Woita went through the house, found Awana's .22 Baretta semiautomatic gun and pointed it at him.

Awana rushed Woita and the gun went off three times, Kim told the jury. Woita was holding the gun in his right hand and during the struggle, the bullets hit him on the left side of the head, Kim said.

Awana then cleaned up the bloody area, borrowed a friend's Boston whaler, weighted the body with a 25-pound dumbbell, dumped the body and the gun and tried to get rid of the marijuana at the Kapa'a Refuse Transfer Station, Kim said.

Gierlach told the jury a detective will testify that the gun is capable of firing three times with a single pull of the trigger during a struggle. "He was struggling for his life," Gierlach said about his client.

Because of his marijuana operation, Awana knew he couldn't call the police and panicked. He destroyed the car, then got rid of the body the next morning, the lawyer said.

Donaldson "Moku" Santiago, 32, testified for the prosecution that he and another man had arranged to act as Woita's "muscle" and backup before the confrontation. Santiago, Woita's stepbrother, said he and the other man trailed Woita and Awana to Manoa and that Awana didn't know that he was being followed.

Santiago testified that his stepbrother was nervous and that they had arranged hand signals: Woita would hold his hand out of the car window and signal with one finger if they would be going to the Manoa house, two fingers if they were going to get money and three if Woita was in trouble, Santiago said.

Three fingers would mean Santiago would ram Woita's car, Santiago said.

Once at the house, Awana and Woita went inside and Santiago and the other man waited in the car parked several houses away. They left after Woita called them on a cell phone and told them they could leave, Santiago testified.

Santiago said his stepbrother had estimated that his loss from the marijuana growing operation was $600,000 to $1.2 million. Santiago said he tried to talk Woita out of confronting Awana, but his stepbrother replied that "it was too much money to forget about."

The trial is expected to conclude next week.