Trooper Wayne Koch described the shooting scene at Annapolis Westfield Mall as a “battle” of gunfire before an Anne Arundel Circuit Court jury Wednesday.
Three witnesses, who can legally carry firearms, testified with ballistics experts to recreate the Nov. 18 shooting for which Javaughn Adams, 18, of Annapolis, is on trial for attempted first-degree murder.
“I drew my weapon, and I was stepping over some people that had thrown themselves flat on to the floor,” testified Paul Alden, a Stevensville contractor who is lawfully permitted to carry a gun.
“People were in a pretty hefty panic.”
Anne Arundel Police Cpl. Scott Arruda said he carried his personal shotgun to the scene after police radio reports notified him of the incident.
Defense attorney David Putzi attempted to prove that Adams never intended to kill anyone and could have been running from the scene when U.S. Secret Service Agent Paul Buta shot him with a semiautomatic handgun, once in the back andonce in the torso.
Trooper Arnold Esposito, a state firearms expert, testified that no evidence definitively supports what Adams was doing when the gunshots were fired, and he could have been struck in the torso first.
Crime scene technician Joel Baker said evidence shows 11 shots were fired ? four shots from Adams and seven from Buta, including a bullet found inside a loaf of bread at the food court?s Subway sandwich restaurant.
Koch was unarmed but ran to help Buta, according to testimony.
Alden took cover behind a vending machine and then ran to help Buta, who was falling to the ground with a gunshot wound to his hip.
Adams allegedly used his .38-caliber revolver to shoot Buta and Tahzay Brown, then 16, of Annapolis.
