Today will likely be the day a Santee man will find out if the rest of his life will be spent in prison or if he'll be cleared in the 2005 shooting that left one dead and another scarred.

Andrae King, 31, is charged with murder, assault and battery with intent to kill and possessing a weapon during a crime.

King says the charges stem from his efforts to defend himself.

"I started walking toward Monique to tell her to leave from the club," King said when he took the stand Wednesday to tell his own side of what happened during the shooting at a Eutawville nightclub. "That's when I saw Matt come toward me in a threatening manner. I react. That's when I pulled my gun and shot him."

"Why did you shoot Matthew?" Orangeburg County Chief Public Defender Michael Culler asked.

"I was scared, I was afraid. I seen Matt with a gun before."

"Yet, you didn't tell police?"

"I was in shock. Me and Matt was all right. I didn't mean to kill Matt."

That will be a question for the jury to decide, with both the prosecution and defense having presented their versions of what happened on July 9, 2005.

What is not in dispute is that 20-year-old Matthew Jenkins, of Holly Hill, died of a gunshot wound to the forehead while his cousin, Monique Green, was shot in the face during an altercation at the Touch of Class nightclub in Eutawville.

Green, 27, survived despite being shot once in the face. A 9 mm round passed through her cheek and exited the rear of her neck.

If King is found guilty of murder, he could be facing anywhere from 30 years to the maximum -- life in prison.

However, prior to Circuit Court Judge J. Knox McMahon's ordering the court adjourned Wednesday, Culler and co-counselor Andrew Brown argued King's actions were in self-defense.

The attorneys asked McMahon to tell the jury that it can find King guilty of lesser crimes rather than murder if they so choose.

"It appears Mr. King's testimony is a moving target," McMahon said. "At one point, he's (Jenkins) carrying a gun and another point he's his little brother.

"All right. I think it's thin, but I'll charge the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter."

Taking the stand after a lunch recess, King laid the groundwork for his stance of self-defense, starting with his ended relationship with Green, who had lived with King prior to the shootings.

"I had wanted to marry her until recently. I found out she was cheating on me with one of my best friends," King te.jpgied. "That's how I met Monique."

With the four-year relationship ended, King, a manager or co-owner of the Touch of Class, became involved in an altercation with Green when she attempted to enter his club late July 8, 2005. King said he told the woman to leave and went to his car to move it in the parking lot.

"I came back and that's when I saw Monique" a second time, he said.

At that point, King says, Jenkins came at him in an aggressive manner. King admitted he fired his gun twice. After, Jenkins lay dead and Green was seriously injured.

Under cross-examination, King appeared unsettled at times.

"You te.jpgied on direct (examination) that you shot Matthew Jenkins because he was coming at you," First Assistant Solicitor Bryan Jeffries said. "Why did you shoot Monique Green?"

"I was ... I was shocked," King said.

"You shot and it just so happened to hit your former girlfriend?"

McMahon ordered jurors to return today at 9:30 a.m. to answer that very question.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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