Tibbitts takes to the stand, claims self defense

A Lewiston man accused of shooting his cousin in the chest during a drunken argument told a jury he feared for his life and acted in self defense.

Douglas Tibbitts, charged with aggravated battery for allegedly shooting Aaron Brewer on Jan. 30, 2021, took the stand during the second day of his trial in Nez Perce County District Court at Lewiston. Tibbitts, guided by his attorney Lawrence Moran, said Brewer had been staying at his trailer and sleeping on the couch for a few weeks. They were drinking Canadian Hunter Whiskey and started to argue after Brewer said he wanted to move his pregnant ex-girlfriend into the trailer.

“I told him, no, it wasn’t going to happen.”

The war of words quickly turned physical and Tibbitts told the jury that Brewer, who is more than 6 feet tall, grabbed him by the neck.

“He choked me out,” Tibbitts said. “He strangled me to the point of unconsciousness.”

When he came to, Tibbitts, who is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, said he grabbed a 9 mm handgun and pointed it at Brewer to keep him at bay. Tibbitts eventually left his trailer and visited his neighbor, Steve Kennedy.

Kennedy convinced Tibbitts to leave the gun with him and return to his trailer. He did, but Tibbitts said Brewer soon resumed the argument and chased him around the kitchen table, prompting Tibbitts to grab another gun, a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.

Moran asked Tibbitts what was going through his mind.

“I was scared and wanted to keep him away from me,” he said. “I wanted him to stop, you know, but he just kept coming around.”

Moran asked him what he was afraid of.

“He’d already choked me to the point of unconsciousness. I don’t know how long it goes from being unconscious to death but I didn’t want to find out.”

He tried to call 911 but said he “fat-fingered” the keypad while attempting to punch in the number and keep the gun trained on Brewer. Next, he called his mother and then his sister. Soon, his stepfather, Tim McDowell, arrived to intervene. His stepfather told Tibbitts to put the gun down. Tibbitts said he handed McDowell his phone and stepped forward to place the gun down when Brewer jumped him.

“He grabbed me by the neck and pushed me to the ground.”

Tibbitts shot Brewer in the chest.

During cross examination, deputy Nez Perce County Prosecutor Kali Jo Parker pointed out several areas in which Tibbitts’ testimony from the witness stand differed from what he told police. Most importantly, that Brewer had strangled him that night.

“That is the first time you told us this, right?”

“First you asked,” Tibbitts said.

“Officers asked you on Jan. 30. They asked you for a long time during those interviews that we’ve watched,” she said. “They asked you over and over and over again to tell them what happened.”

She quoted Tibbitts from a video recording of his police interview, saying he used his .45 because “that’s the gun you would use if you were going to do him dirty. “

“Oh, I don’t know why I said that, but I heard it on the video,” Tibbitts said.

Parker continued.

“You told officers in the video that we watched today that you should have killed Aaron Brewer,” she said.

“It’s possible I said that, yes,” Tibbitts said. “It was obviously in the video.”

“And you told officers he deserved it,” Parker replied.

“I don’t know if I agree with what I said there, but self defense is what it is, you’re getting strangled,” Tibbitts said.

Parker pointed out other instances in which the testimony given by Tibbitts in court differed from what he told police after the shooting and even a few instances where he told police conflicting accounts of the shooting.

During interviews, he told police that he shot Brewer and at other times Tibbitts denied shooting him. Tibbitts also told them he was afraid of Brewer, and that he didn’t fear him.

On redirect, Moran tried to lessen the impact of the discrepancies, chalking some of them up to Tibbitts being intoxicated during the interviews and making simple mistakes. For example, Tibbitts told officers he had lived in his trailer since 1898.

“I will be kinder than Ms. Parker and I won’t say the 1898 statement was a lie. I suspect it was a mistake and you meant some other date. Is that correct.”

“That’s correct,” Tibbitts replied

“And you were pretty intoxicated that night.”

“Well, yes.”

The trial continues today at 8 a.m. when the defense and prosecution are expected to make their closing arguments.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.