cassandrasdaddy
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damn shame and lots of lives forever changed
John Wayne Peck trial: Day 1
July 20, 2009 9:34 pm
BY PORTSIA SMITH
A Caroline County man was killed while hunting buddies were horsing around with a gun after a day of heavy drinking in 2006, according to a video statement the man on trial for the death told authorities shortly after the incident.
John Wayne Peck told investigators both he and 61-year-old Jerry Beverly were reaching for a .44 caliber revolver when it discharged, striking Beverly in the chest.
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Peck and his lawyer, Jon David, said it was an accident.
Commonwealth Attorney Tony Spencer said it was not.
A jury of 10 women and four men began hearing testimony in Caroline County Circuit Court this afternoon in the murder trial of Peck, a 29-year-old man who also faces charges of use of a firearm in the commission of murder.
The jury is expected to hear two more days of testimony this week.
Eleven witnesses were called to testify today, including two investigators, two medical examiners, a forensic scientist and relatives of both the victim and defendant.
The most significance evidence today was the 20-minute video statement Peck gave police just hours after the shooting.
Peck said he and his friend Robert Heflin were going dove hunting the evening of Oct. 9, 2006 and two others, Beverly and Mike HeflinSr. tagged along.
The group had been drinking and joking around, he said.
Peck told police that Beverly had gotten upset and started walking home because the other guys had jokingly accused him of stealing something.
Peck said he offered Beverly a ride home around 7:45 p.m. because he knew he had been drinking. A medical examiner testified that Beverly's blood alcohol content at the time of death was .25, which is three times the legal limit of .08.
Peck said Beverly was getting out of the vehicle when all of a sudden he playfully reached for Peck's gun. Peck said he brushed Beverly's hand away and the gun went off.
He said Beverly stood there with a cigarette in his hand and said "You shot me."
Peck said he didn't believe him until Beverly lifted up his arms to show where he was bleeding and said "Call the Sheriff's Office."
That's when Beverly fell to the ground, and Peck said he didn't get a response.
"I freaked out. I panicked. I went completely nuts," Peck said on the video.
Peck said he drove away, threw the gun over a bridge and drove to the home of Emily Brown, the mother of his fiancee.
Brown testified that Peck was very upset and hysterical and kept saying someone was going to kill him.
She called Peck's father, Gary Wayne Peck, who at 9:18 p.m. called 911.
"Believe you me, if there was a way I could take this back, I wouldn't be here to night," Peck told one of the investigators on the videotape.
Peck sobbed throughout most of the trial today, which seemed to annoy many of Beverly's family members, who wore blue wristbands that read "Jerry Curtis Beverly, forever in our hearts."
Peck, who has been free on bond, declined to talk as he walked out of the courtroom today, but his father said his family was dealing with the situation the best way they can.
The trial will resume tomorrow at 9 a.m.
damn shame and lots of lives forever changed
John Wayne Peck trial: Day 1
July 20, 2009 9:34 pm
BY PORTSIA SMITH
A Caroline County man was killed while hunting buddies were horsing around with a gun after a day of heavy drinking in 2006, according to a video statement the man on trial for the death told authorities shortly after the incident.
John Wayne Peck told investigators both he and 61-year-old Jerry Beverly were reaching for a .44 caliber revolver when it discharged, striking Beverly in the chest.
f
Peck and his lawyer, Jon David, said it was an accident.
Commonwealth Attorney Tony Spencer said it was not.
A jury of 10 women and four men began hearing testimony in Caroline County Circuit Court this afternoon in the murder trial of Peck, a 29-year-old man who also faces charges of use of a firearm in the commission of murder.
The jury is expected to hear two more days of testimony this week.
Eleven witnesses were called to testify today, including two investigators, two medical examiners, a forensic scientist and relatives of both the victim and defendant.
The most significance evidence today was the 20-minute video statement Peck gave police just hours after the shooting.
Peck said he and his friend Robert Heflin were going dove hunting the evening of Oct. 9, 2006 and two others, Beverly and Mike HeflinSr. tagged along.
The group had been drinking and joking around, he said.
Peck told police that Beverly had gotten upset and started walking home because the other guys had jokingly accused him of stealing something.
Peck said he offered Beverly a ride home around 7:45 p.m. because he knew he had been drinking. A medical examiner testified that Beverly's blood alcohol content at the time of death was .25, which is three times the legal limit of .08.
Peck said Beverly was getting out of the vehicle when all of a sudden he playfully reached for Peck's gun. Peck said he brushed Beverly's hand away and the gun went off.
He said Beverly stood there with a cigarette in his hand and said "You shot me."
Peck said he didn't believe him until Beverly lifted up his arms to show where he was bleeding and said "Call the Sheriff's Office."
That's when Beverly fell to the ground, and Peck said he didn't get a response.
"I freaked out. I panicked. I went completely nuts," Peck said on the video.
Peck said he drove away, threw the gun over a bridge and drove to the home of Emily Brown, the mother of his fiancee.
Brown testified that Peck was very upset and hysterical and kept saying someone was going to kill him.
She called Peck's father, Gary Wayne Peck, who at 9:18 p.m. called 911.
"Believe you me, if there was a way I could take this back, I wouldn't be here to night," Peck told one of the investigators on the videotape.
Peck sobbed throughout most of the trial today, which seemed to annoy many of Beverly's family members, who wore blue wristbands that read "Jerry Curtis Beverly, forever in our hearts."
Peck, who has been free on bond, declined to talk as he walked out of the courtroom today, but his father said his family was dealing with the situation the best way they can.
The trial will resume tomorrow at 9 a.m.
