Jason Scott Pearson took the stand Thursday in his own defense, saying that when he fired at pursuing officers he wasn't aiming at them.
"I'm going to wake up every day for the rest of my life knowing that I took a father from his children, a husband from his wife, a son from his parents," Pearson told jurors Thursday."I can't explain it. I don't know what happened. I wish I had the answers, but I don't know," he said.
Pearson faces charges of aggravated murder and four counts of attempted murder for fatally shooting Utah Highway Patrol trooper Dennis "Dee" Lund and firing at other officers during a June 1993 chase on I-70.
He was expected to continue his testimony throughout the rest of Thursday morning.
The Indiana youth was still a teenager when he shot Lund two years ago. Now 20, he is attempting to show that he wasn't shooting to kill when he shot at pursuing officers.
On Wednesday, Pearson's accomplice, 18-year-old George Kennedy, presented jurors with what prosecutors said is a watered-down version of the events that ended with Lund dead.
Showing little emotion, the dark-haired youth answered attorney's questions in a low monotone, rarely displaying more than an anxious brow.
Some 24 hours earlier, and after discussing the case with Pearson's defense attorneys, Kennedy had apparently been reluctant to talk to prosecutors.
That tension showed itself Wednesday in court when Kennedy admitted he was concerned about an implied threat allegedly made by prosecutors to write a letter to the parole board if Kennedy didn't cooperate and reiterate information given in earlier interviews and included in his plea bargain.
Both the state and Pearson's defense attorney, Kenneth Brown, acknowledged Kennedy's worry. The defense moved for a mistrial, which was denied by 7th District Judge Bruce Halliday.
"George, it's difficult to testify against your friend, isn't it?" prosecutor David Blackwell asked.
"Yes," Kennedy replied.
Blackwell then asked if that paradox was the reason he had apparently wavered in his testimony.
"I don't think I am wavering," Kennedy answered.
Prosecutors' dilemma came after Kennedy described the impetus for the duo's cross-country flight and when he laid out the details of the chase.
"We decided to leave," Kennedytold the jury Wednesday after describing how the two had tangled with other Indiana kids in a confrontation that involved weapons and eventually police.
Stealing a 1986 Ford Thunderbird from Kennedy's mother, the teens made their way west by stealing gasoline and food. They pawned Kennedy's portable stereo for $20.
When asked by Blackwell of their intended destination, Kennedy said he didn't know.
"You just knew you were headed west?" Blackwell asked.
"Yes," Kennedy replied.
With less than five hours sleep in three days, Pearson and Kennedy entered Utah and promptly drove away from a Thompson gas station without paying for their fuel, Kennedy recounted.
Westbound on I-70, they noticed a police car gaining on them and Pearson ordered Kennedy to pull their two guns, a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle and .20-gauge shotgun, Kennedy said.
Under questioning, Kennedy said that Pearson told him he was worried about going back to Indiana. During the ensuing chase, he recalled Pearson saying, "I'm in trouble back in Indiana enough."
Kennedy said he took that to mean Pearson's prior run-in with the law, in which he allegedly sold drugs to an undercover police officer and was being forced to act as an informant against his friends.
Until Wednesday, it was unclear if the jury would hear about Pearson's apparent colored past. The judge ruled that his juvenile record not be admitted as evidence, but permitted any testimony that concerned the youths' discussion during the chase.
Prosecutors' concerns stem from Kennedy's recount of a statement made by Pearson in the minutes before the shooting.
As Pearson drove with his left hand while loading the .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle with the other, he apparently said, "If a cop tries to pass, just shoot at 'em," according to Kennedy.
It became evident that Blackwell expected the teen to say "shoot them," meaning the officer. The prosecutor asked Kennedy to rethink the statement, pointing to a conflicting recollection recorded during several other interviews with police, but the teen didn't alter his statement, again saying he couldn't remember if Pearson said "shoot them" or "shoot at them."
Kennedy later said he took the wheel with his left hand, with the car on cruise control, while Pearson pointed the shotgun out the window at Lund, who was trying to pass. Pearson pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire, Kennedy said.
Later, Kennedy recounted how Pearson again fired out the window, this time striking Lund, and how Kennedy saw the trooper's car careen off the road. Pearson sat back in the car, saying, "I think I got one," Kennedy said, describing his friend as "kind of scared and nervous, excited a little, I guess."
Again, prosecutors questioned Kennedy's impression of Pearson's statement: "I think I got one." Kennedy said he believed Pearson referred to a police car, not an officer - in conflict with his earlier impressions, according to prosecutors.