The trial of a man charged with murdering an off-duty state deputy sheriff began yesterday with defense lawyers arguing that the fatal shooting was connected to a "protection" racket that preyed on bars and nightclubs near the state Convention Center.

Prosecutors told a Circuit Court jury, however, that John K. "Patrick" Lorenzo Jr. killed Deputy Sheriff Daniel Browne-Sanchez during an attempted robbery.

Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bell said Lorenzo, a convicted felon, was carrying a silencer-equipped .22-caliber handgun and was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and a ski mask when he entered Osake Sushi Bar and Lounge at 3 a.m. Feb. 10.

Browne-Sanchez was working at the nightspot during his off-duty hours and was shot multiple times by Lorenzo while trying to subdue the robber, Bell said in his opening statement.

"Daniel Browne-Sanchez was a large man who weighed over 200 pounds, but he was no match for a metal projectile that weighed 2 grams," Bell told the jury.

According to a police affidavit, Lorenzo entered the kitchen of Osake Sushi Bar and Lounge at 1700 Kapi'olani Blvd. through a back entrance at 3:12 a.m.

Lorenzo went up to two cooks and ordered them out of the kitchen at gunpoint. He allegedly pressed the barrel of the firearm to the back of one man's head and led them into the bar area of the restaurant, the police affidavit said.

Upon entering the bar, Lorenzo allegedly pointed the handgun at a crowd of about 10 people and fired several shots into the air, ordering everyone to get down, the affidavit said.

He then screamed, "I want the money," the affidavit said.

Seeing that one man was slow to comply, he pointed the pistol directly at the man's head and fired a shot. The witness told police the bullet missed him, but he could "hear the bullet as it passed by his head," the court record shows.

Lorenzo then allegedly fired his gun at Browne-Sanchez's feet. The deputy rushed toward the armed robber, who shot several times, striking the deputy in the chest, neck and arm.

Despite being hit three times, Browne-Sanchez was able to tackle Lorenzo to the ground and a struggle for the handgun began, the affidavit said.

Other people in the bar jumped in and wrestled the gun away from Lorenzo.

Browne-Sanchez died from the gunshot wound to the chest, the Office of the City Medical Examiner said previously.

Lorenzo fired a total of eight shots during the botched robbery, police said.

Lorenzo is charged with murder, attempted murder and multiple counts of robbery and firearms violations

Browne-Sanchez, 27, was working at Osake as a bartender's assistant.

In his opening statement, defense attorney Walter Rodby told the jury that his client owed a drug debt to "two thugs" who told Lorenzo the debt would be forgiven if he went into the bar and fired several rounds from the gun to scare employees there.

Owners of the Osake had refused to pay "protection" money to the thugs' criminal organization, Rodby said. The "two thugs" supplied the gun, bullet-resistant vest and mask that Lorenzo used during the crime.

Lorenzo was supposed "to go in there, fire a few shots, then tell them, 'You're going to have to start paying your taxes,' " Rodby said.

Lorenzo was awaiting sentencing for a drug conviction when he entered the bar. Drugs that were seized from Lorenzo in that 2005 case belonged to the "thugs," who had accosted him at his job and home, demanding repayment from him, according to the defense lawyer.

They confronted him again the evening of the robbery when Lorenzo came out of a drug treatment session he had attended several blocks from the Osake, according to Rodby.

Lorenzo, 32, was supposed to have been sentenced last year in connection with the 2005 drug case, but Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto delayed sentencing to allow the defendant to complete drug treatment.

Sakamoto, who is presiding over the murder trial, sentenced Lorenzo in March to up to 30 years in prison in the drug case.

In May, Lorenzo broke a leg, ankle and arm during an escape attempt at Halawa Correctional Facility. Officials said he leaped from the top of a 40-foot building, landing just outside the prison security fence. He was captured after guards heard him moaning and found him unable to move because of his injuries.

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.