SPOKANE — Was it anger that prompted a man to shoot and kill a woman in a road rage incident in north Spokane on May 15, 2021? Or was it self-defense?
Those were the questions attorneys asked a jury during their closing arguments in the second-degree murder trial of Richard S. Hough on Monday.
Hough’s mother was driving their red Volkswagen Jetta with Richard Hough and his brother inside when Erika Kienas and her boyfriend’s white Subaru cut them off on Cozza Drive. The Houghs maintained that they were concerned about the Subaru and followed it in order to report its license plate number. The Houghs said the Subaru occupants, which also included a third occupant, flipped them off and yelled at them from the car.
The two vehicles stopped at the intersection of Francis Avenue and Addison street where Hough and Kienas confronted each other. Less than 15 seconds later, Hough shot and killed Kienas.
Prosecutors told jurors that Hough, 30, acted in anger and not out of fear when he shot and killed Kienas, who was 33. Hough’s defense argued that Kienas was the aggressor and that Hough only fired in self-defense when he couldn’t de-escalate the situation.
Deputy Prosecutor Dale Nagy agreed that the vehicle Kienas was riding in was driven erratically, but that Hough acted unreasonably when he confronted Kienas with a firearm outside of the vehicle.
“Guns are legal. Wear them all you want. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Nagy said. “But if you’re going to do that, act responsibly, and before you pull that out, you better have a good reason because of that. Not because of road rage. Not because somebody flipped off your mother. You better only pull that gun when there’s great bodily harm or death near.”
In body camera footage, Hough told police he saw Kienas reaching into her bra for something when he “instinctively” pulled out his gun and shot her. But Nagy said that the shooting wasn’t reasonable given the scenario.
A barbecue scraper was recovered from the scene of the shooting with Kienas’ DNA on it.
“Ms. Kienas was the initial aggressor,” defense attorney Annie Wasilewski told jurors. “Mr. Hough told you he saw Ms. Kienas with a knife and that she threatened to cut him. He felt threatened. This morning he told you ‘I perceived her as a danger, and I protected myself.’ “
Due to some physical limitations, Wasilewski said that Hough was unable to run away or fight back in another way.
Jurors are now deliberating.
