ALFRED — Patrick Dapolito testified this morning in his murder trial that he turned to marijuana distribution when legitimate work in his field dried up.

Dapolito is accused of the 2010 fatal shooting of his wife, 30-year-old Kelly Winslow. If convicted of murder, Dapolito, 41, will face 25 years to life in prison.

Dapolito’s involvement in marijuana distribution is important to his defense because he claims that Winslow was the victim of a dispute he had with his suppliers. The defense says that Dapolito returned home from a trip to the store and found Winslow dead.

Dapolito had previously told authorities that he had been high on cocaine when he and Winslow went to sleep on the bathroom floor. He had said he went to sleep with a gun in his hand and that the gun accidentally fired.

This morning, Dapolito described his career in the petroleum industry to a jury in York County Superior Court. He held different positions dealing with petroleum equipment, but the market for such purchases eventually dried up.

Dapolito said that he made money in marijuana distribution between 2002 and 2007. He testified that he continued to pursue legitimate employment during that time, including a start-up cleaning company and an independent representative agency for petroleum and propane equipment.

He said someone had approached him about the availability of marijuana for distribution after he had returned to Maine from Wisconsin. He said he was able to apply his experience in distribution and sales from his petroleum industry experience to this area.

 

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