We're withholding the identity of the teen who took the stand this afternoon. But we can tell you he's a good friend of the Beard brothers. He said he was with them before and after the shooting, although his detailed account of the events of that day varied while he was on the stand.
Initially he said, "I really can't remember what happened, so I don't think anything I say will help".
He told prosectuors that he saw the weapons at the Beard home on the day in question. The teen said he and the brothers were smoking pot and playing video games. Eventually, they left the home to get more papers to roll marijuana. At that point, while crossing the street towards a convienience store, words were exchanged between some people in a pickup truck.
The teen said he didn't remember the exact verbiage. When the prosecutor asked him why he didn't tell detectives the full story, he said "because I really didn't care, I really didn't want to say nothing".
When confronted by the defense, the attorney said "are these your friends here? Is Jarrad your friend?" The teen said "yeah". The defense attorney said "Is Jerry your friend?" Again, the teen said "yeah". When the defense attorney asked why the teen wasn't admitting what happened that night, he said "Am I supposed to do your job for you?".
He claims the victims were in that pick-up truck. The harsh words were exchanged, than the victims made a U-Turn, a gunshot was fired at a tire, there was yelling and a foot chase, and one of the victims grabbed the teen witness.
The teen said he heard more gunshots ring out. The defense attorney said "and this young man that's a big guy - he was grabbing a hold of you wasn't he?" The witness said "I guess so". The defense attorney then affirmed "and he let go because he was shot, isn't that a fact?".
The teen told jurors, when it was all over with, he met back up with the brothers, and they resumed smoking marijuana and playing video games.
Dr. Chambliss, of the Fresno County Coroner's office, said both victims tested positive for methamphetamine and marijuana.
The trial resumes on Monday.
