PORTLAND (AP) – A prosecutor says admitted cocaine dealer Pedro Santiago became so enraged at being ripped off by a 20-year-old junkie that he killed the man with a single gunshot fired execution-style to the forehead.

Santiago maintains that the victim, Josh Dyer, was the first to pull a gun, and that Santiago’s weapon went off accidentally during the ensuing struggle.

After a six-day murder trial, jurors began deliberations Tuesday in Cumberland County Superior Court to decide if Santiago, 31, is guilty or if he acted in self-defense.

Lawyers presented closing arguments Monday and the jury will weigh evidence after receiving instructions from the judge.

The trial focused on the events of two days and one sleepless night, when Santiago, Dyer and the people in their lives moved around Portland acquiring, selling and ingesting a variety of drugs.

In his testimony Monday, Santiago said that Dyer “kind of worked for me,” selling cocaine in the Kennedy Park neighborhood.

In the early morning of Nov. 8, 2003 Santiago said they pulled up next to each other in a parking lot so Dyer could buy a few grams of cocaine. But instead of handing over the money, Dyer dropped a wad of bills on the ground and sped off. Santiago said he found the payment $140 short.

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese said Santiago was enraged by the rip-off and planned to kill Dyer. Three hours later he confronted Dyer outside his apartment armed with a 9 millimeter handgun.

But Santiago testified that he talked with Dyer on the telephone and agreed to meet him for a second drug deal so Dyer could work off his debt. Santiago said he was not angry with Dyer.

“I’m going to tell you something about being a drug dealer,” he explained. “Everybody rips you off.”

Soon after they met, Santiago said, Dyer pulled out a gun. Santiago said he slapped it away and drew his own weapon. He said he hit Dyer with the gun and it accidentally went off. Santiago said he got back in his truck and drove away.

Dyer’s girlfriend, Belinda Sutton, told a different story. She said she was watching from a second floor window in her apartment when Santiago pointed a gun at Dyer’s head and fired twice, missing once. Two passersby also heard two shots and one saw a man he identified as Santiago pointing a gun.

Dyer’s mother, Sharlene Gallant of Biddeford, said her son should be remembered as a doting father.

“People tried to make him look bad, but he loved his son,” Gallant said. “No matter how he lived, he didn’t deserve to die.”