‘I was going to get raped,’ accused killer tells judge

Marvin Jean-Pierre genuinely thought Jose Mondelus was about to rape him on Dec. 29, 2020, and he didn’t have to wait for the violence to start before defending himself, a defense lawyer argued Thursday.

Jean-Pierre, 26, took the stand Thursday to give his first account of Mondelus’ death since the body was discovered on New Year’s Day 2021. Jean-Pierre is charged with first-degree murder and faces life in prison if convicted. He appeared before Broward Circuit Judge Lorena Mastrarrigo to ask her to dismiss the charges under the state’s stand-your-ground law on the grounds that he was acting in self-defense.

In his testimony, Jean-Pierre said that as a favor to Jean-Pierre’s mother, Mondelus was letting her son stay with him rent-free while she found more permanent housing for him.

Jean-Pierre said he was asleep, naked, in Mondelus’ bedroom when he was awakened by the feeling of being touched. According to the defendant, Mondelus was touching him on the chest, on the back and on the buttocks, and the meaning to Jean-Pierre was frighteningly clear: “I was going to get raped.”

Until his death, there was no indication that Mondelus, 52, was gay or bisexual. He had been married (and later divorced) and was a member of a Baptist church in Miramar, the same church were he met Jean-Pierre’s mother. The church, according to the mother, frowns on homosexuality, which would give any member an incentive to hide their orientation from the public.

A police detective who reviewed the victim’s smart phone records testified Wednesday he found no evidence Mondelus was gay.

But Jean-Pierre said the night of the victim’s death was not the first time there was inappropriate touching. He said Mondelus touched him on the head, shoulders and back several times in the week leading up to their final, fatal altercation.

“Hands on my back. Hands on my arm. Rubbed my head. Things like that,” Jean-Pierre said.

“How did that make you feel?” asked defense lawyer Gabe Ermine.

“Uncomfortable. I tried to shrug it off,” Jean-Pierre answered.

On that final night, Jean-Pierre said he was startled by Mondelus’ most assertive overtures to that point. As he awakened, he said he noticed Mondelus was shirtless and pants-less, wearing nothing but underwear. Jean-Pierre said he got dressed and would have left, but Mondelus was blocking the front door.

He later admitted to prosecutor Taylor Collins that he didn’t think to make his escape through the Miramar apartment’s back door.

According to his testimony Thursday, Jean-Pierre picked up a clothing iron and threw it at the victim, striking him in the face. The two men wrestled, and Jean-Pierre said he subdued him by putting him in a sleeper hold.

The defendant claimed Mondelus was still alive but unconscious when he left the apartment.

He later returned to the apartment and covered the victim’s head in a plastic bag, wrapped his body in a blanket and stuffed him in a closet. He never called 911, he said, because he was scared and confused.

Under Florida law, someone is entitled to use deadly force if he has the right to be where he is and must act to prevent the commission of a forcible felony. “He doesn’t have to wait for it to actually happen,” Ermine said.

The judge said she would consider the self-defense motion and issue a written ruling, but she did not say exactly when to expect one.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@Rafael.olmeda.

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