A jury on Tuesday convicted a La Plata County man of manslaughter for the shooting death of his close friend in November 2021 after their friendship devolved amid heavy drug use, financial disputes and physical threats.
Nicolo “Nico” Tonelli, 26, showed no obvious signs of emotion Tuesday as 6th Judicial District Judge Suzanne Carlson announced the jury’s verdict.
The 12-person jury spared Tonelli of the most serious charge – second-degree murder – which would have resulted in 16 to 48 years in prison.
Instead, Tonelli faces two to six years in prison for manslaughter, a class 4 felony. The sentence could be increased to 12 years in prison if prosecutors can show aggravating circumstances.
Sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. March 29 in District Court. Tonelli remained behind bars Tuesday at the La Plata County Jail, but Carlson said she would consider arguments for bail.
In a mixed verdict, the jury also found Tonelli guilty of tampering with physical evidence, but not guilty of tampering with a corpse.
The 2½-week trial began Jan. 11 in District Court in Durango.
Tonelli was accused of shooting and killing Jamison “Jmoe” McMaster, 27, on Nov. 22, 2021, in the 700 block of Dream Catcher Lane in southwest La Plata County.
McMaster recorded a nine-minute video on Instagram the morning before the shooting. It offers a haunting snapshot of the tension that had developed among McMaster, Tonelli and other close associates.
In the video, McMaster has a large gash on his forehead after being hit in the head with a rock the previous night by Tonelli. McMaster describes a contentious night that included fighting and “two to three people subduing me.”
Tonelli and McMaster had been close friends – like brothers, as Tonelli described it – but their friendship turned contentious as they used copious amounts of drugs, including marijuana and mushrooms, and sold large quantities of drugs, according to courtroom testimony.
Tonelli and McMaster also physically fought, including on the night leading up to the shooting. Tonelli smashed McMaster in the forehead with a rock, and the two men sparred on several occasions, with Tonelli trying to “choke-out” McMaster.
Tonelli eventually shot McMaster while standing outside their rented house. McMaster was unarmed at the time.
Defense lawyers portrayed McMaster as a bully in the relationship. They asked jurors to consider the totality of the situation and whether Tonelli acted in self-defense. McMaster did not need to be armed at the time in order for Tonelli to be in immediate fear of his life, said defense lawyer Kristen Hindman of Montrose.
Several witnesses also portrayed McMaster as a bully who became increasingly volatile and unpredictable as he consumed huge quantities of psychedelic mushrooms – as much as 50 grams at a time, which is about 10 times more than a “hero’s dose” of 5 grams, Hindman said.
McMaster at times claimed to be able to take a blue pill that gave him telepathic abilities. On one occasion, he dared his landlord to shoot him, saying he could not die.
Excessive drug use can cause psychosis and cause a person to become unpredictable, Hindman said. Drugs altered McMaster’s personality and caused him to become erratic and dangerous, she said. He was swinging chains and had access to weapons on the property the morning of the shooting, she said.
It is within that context that Hindman asked jurors to consider whether Tonelli acted in self-defense when he fatally shot McMaster, she said.
Prosecutors said self-defense played no role in Tonelli’s decision to shoot McMaster. Rather, the decision came amid the breakup of a friendship and the dwindling profitability of their drug sales.
Prosecutors said McMaster hadn’t consumed mushrooms the morning of the shooting, McMaster was unarmed at the time of the shooting, and by all accounts he wanted to use words to resolve disputes whereas Tonelli resorted to violence.
McMaster was about to leave the property with a large tub of marijuana worth thousands of dollars, and that was Tonelli’s motivation for shooting McMaster – not self-defense, said Vance Davis, a deputy district attorney who helped prosecute the case.
After the shooting, prosecutors said Tonelli wiped the gun clean, removed a digital-video recorder connected to cameras that would have shown the shooting and moved McMaster’s body into the back of a truck.
At no point did Tonelli call 911 to report the shooting, prosecutors said. Instead, he did everything he could to cover up his tracks.
District Attorney Christian Champagne said the verdict sparing Tonelli of second-degree murder is disappointing, but the manslaughter charge at least holds Tonelli responsible for McMaster’s death.
“I’m happy to get justice for the victim and his family,” Champagne said. “We’re obviously a little bit disappointed with the outcome, but at the same time a jury of 12 convicted him of the murder of Jamison McMaster.”
The jury consisted of three men and 11 women, including two alternates.
shane@durangoheald.com
