ATLANTA — A man charged with murdering a repo man who was repossessing his car calls the killing accidental.
Defendant Justin Moore admitted that he shot at the victim's tow truck, but he said in court that the gun went off accidentally.
Channel 2's Jeff Dore was at the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta, where Moore's defense team rested its case on Friday.
Defense Rests In Repo Worker Killing Trial
In a videotaped statement after the November 2009 incident, Moore told detectives that he thought the two men approaching his car were thieves. He said he ran inside, told his wife to call police and came back outside with a sawed-off shotgun.
"I ran outside and said, 'They're robbing me. Somebody, help me. Help me,' and the dude said nothing," Moore said in the video. "Nobody said nothing to me."
Moore admitted he fired his gun into the air and shot at the tow truck three times.
"I shot at the back end and the tire. I never shot at the door … I didn't shoot at the people," Moore said.
He said he got into his car and chased the truck while pointing his shotgun, but he only meant to scare them.
WSB-TV Tow truck trial reenacment When the two vehicles collided, Moore said his gun got caught between the two mirrors.
"When I jerked it back, that's when it went off," he said on the stand Friday.
Police said that shot killed repo worker Brandon Thomas.
Moore led officers on a chase, driving at speeds between 120 and 150 mph. He said after Thomas was shot, he didn't think anyone would listen to him.
Prosecutors said Moore was just scared to face the consequences of his actions.
"You were really feeling sorry for yourself because you don't want to go to jail, right?" a prosecutor asked.
But Moore maintained that it was an accident. He choked up on the defense stand, saying that he could empathize with Thomas' family.
"I got kids. I got a wife," Moore said. "I wasn't trying to hurt nobody."
The defense rested its case shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday. Jurors were expected to begin deliberating shortly afterward.