Defense: Victim Tried to Scam Churon Winery

A man who was shot to death over a business deal gone sour allegedly tried to scam a Temecula winery owner, a defense attorney argued today.

Victor Borcherds, 60, allegedly approached the owners of with a proposal similar to the one he entered with Louis DiBernardo, who later fatally shot him, Rick Layon said during a hearing today at the

DiBernardo is being tried a second time on charges of murdering Borcherds, his former business associate.

He went on trial for the charges last year. He was found guilty of kidnapping and making threats, but the jury was hung on the charges related to the killing.

To read about the jury's verdict,

Borcherds was renting The Castle Bed & Breakfast from DiBernardo, and the two had a falling out that led to the shooting.

To read about it,.

Layon said Borcherds was trying to scam DiBernardo into losing The Castle, so DiBernardo would lose it to foreclosure, giving Borcherds a chance to buy it cheap, Layon said during previous hearings.

To read about the argument,

Borcherds approached the owners of the Churon in Feb. 2009, a few months before entering a deal with DiBernardo, Layon said.

The winery owners did a search on Borcherds' name, read of his spotted history of business deals and backed out.

"They found they had a history of this sort of mischief," Layon told a judge when the jury was outside the courtroom. "They nipped it in the bud after they figured out what the Borcherds were doing."

To read about his history, .

Layon asked that the incident be allowed into evidence, but the prosecution objected.

This previous deal has no bearing on the current trial, said Brandon Smith, a prosecutor with the District Attorney's Office.

"It's completely irrelevant. This is getting ridiculous," Smith told the judge after Layon made his argument.

Judge Angel Bermudez agreed. "It may show a precursor to a bad act, but it doesn't show the bad act completed," he told Layon.