Brandon Grimes took the witness stand in his own defense Thursday, telling jurors he was simply waiting for a ride when “shots rang out” from an unknown direction — injuring him in the same block where the plainclothes police detective he is charged with murdering was fatally shot.

“I never had no gun,” testified Grimes, who police say had been arrested 17 times before he murdered Detective Troy Chesley Jan. 9, 2007 during a botched robbery.