Chuck E. Cheese Parking Lot Shooting "Self Defense"?

FRESNO, Calif. Manuel "George" Mancilla admits he shot and killed Victor Cedano in Sept. 2008, and he took the stand to tell the jury why he did it.

Mancilla says he only shot to protect himself, but prosecutors say he had plenty of opportunities to leave if he felt threatened.

Surveillance video from the scene, only seen on Action News, shows most of what happened leading up to Cedano's death.

It shows Mancilla using his SUV to block Cedano's car about four minutes before the deadly shooting and -- after a chaotic period of time that witnesses said included a lot of yelling and cursing -- it shows Mancilla walking toward the restaurant to get a bullet in the chamber of his gun.

But Mancilla says the video doesn't show Cedano throwing the punches that put him in fear when he got back into his SUV.

"I leaned back toward the passenger side to avoid the attack and at the same time, I reached for my gun because I was being attacked," he testified Wednesday.

The video also shows Mancilla speeding away in reverse after the shooting, leaving his two children behind with their mother, who was dating Cedano.

He had picked up the kids from their mother earlier that day and took them to Chuck E. Cheese for part of the afternoon.

Police investigators say Mancilla told them a different story that day than he told on the stand Wednesday, claiming that Cedano blocked him in.

But Mancilla said he was telling the truth before the judge.

"Everyone lies, yeah," he testified when the prosecutor asked him if he ever told a lie.

"Are you lying today?" asked Assistant District Attorney Steve Wright.

Mancilla said simply, "No."

If the jurors don't believe Mancilla shot in self-defense, they'll have to decide if he planned to kill Cedano, resulting in a first degree murder conviction.

Witnesses for the prosecution have testified about previous threats, but Mancilla denied making them and said Cedano's death bothered him.

A homicide detective testified that Mancilla cried when he found out.

"I was sad," testified Mancilla. "I didn't mean for him to die."

Closing arguments are set for Thursday morning.

The jury should begin deliberations by Thursday afternoon.

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