By Gillian Flaccus
The Associated Press
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — An Iraq war veteran who was shot by a deputy after a high-speed chase testified Monday that he begged his friend to pull over after noticing a patrol car behind them.
Senior Airman Elio Carrion said in the trial against former San Bernadino Sheriff’s Deputy Ivory J. Webb Jr. that Carrion’s friend lost control of the 2004 blue Corvette, went into a spin and ended up hood-to-hood with Webb’s patrol car.
“I told him to stop, pull over, slow down,” Carrion testified. “I recall him saying (that) he knows what he’s doing.”
Prosecutors say Webb shot Carrion three times in the moments afterward on Jan. 29, 2006. The shooting was recorded by an amateur cameraman and broadcast on TV stations nationwide.
Carrion, now 23, had been drinking at a barbecue earlier that day to celebrate his return from Iraq.
Webb, 46, has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of voluntary attempted manslaughter and assault with a firearm. If convicted, he could face more than 18 years in prison.
Webb picked up the chase after another deputy lost sight of the speeding Corvette.
The video of the shooting, which has been played multiple times for jurors, appears to show Webb ordering Carrion, “Get up! Get up!” and then shooting him as Carrion attempts to comply.
Webb’s lawyer said during opening statements that Webb may have told Carrion, “Don’t get up!”
He also said that just seconds before the gunfire, Carrion’s hand moved toward his jacket pocket -something police often believe means a suspect is going for a weapon.
Authorities later determined Carrion was unarmed.