EVANS, GA (WFXG) -
It was an emotional day in court as friends and family listened as witnesses relived the day Raymond Lee was shot to death at the Columbia County Water Treatment Plant where he worked last April.
Thomas Bradford, accused of the murder, claims the shooting happened in self-defense, but Assistant District Attorney Geoffrey Fogus disagrees, telling the jury Bradford was angry after a dispute with Lee over a tractor-trailer that may have been overfilled with sludge.
"That man right there, Thomas Eugene Bradford, Jr., was a hothead," Fogus says as he points to the defendant. "He took Raymond Lee's life."
A key piece of evidence introduced today: Bradford's 911 call, in which he admits shooting Lee.
OPERATOR: "9-1-1, where is your emergency?"
BRADFORD: "It's at the Columbia County Waste Water Facility on Stevens Creek Road."
OPERATOR: "Okay, what's going on, sir?"
BRADFORD: "A man's been shot."
OPERATOR: "Okay, where is the person who did the shooting?"
BRADFORD: "I'm right here on the phone with you."
OPERATOR: "What happened?"
BRADFORD: "It was an altercation, and it got out of hand."
Two plant employees also took the stand, telling the jury how they saw Bradford walk towards Lee and shoot him as Lee was backing up.
"They separated, and Raymond took a step back with his hands up," witness Andrew Lasure says. "[Bradford] fires one shot."
But defense attorney Victor Hawk tells a different story, saying the gun accidentally went off during a scuffle he says Lee continually escalated.
"Raymond set up a dangerous confrontation, and he was accidentally and tragically killed," Hawk said during his opening statements.
Hawk also questions the plant employees' testimonies, arguing they may not have clearly seen what happened since they were almost 140 yards away from Bradford and Lee.
Two other witnesses, the first responding officer and a crime scene investigator, also took the stand for the prosecution.
The trial will reconvene Wednesday morning at 10 am.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WFXG, a Raycom Media Station.
