A friend of Oscar Pistorius testified in the Olympian's murder trial today that the athlete twice fired guns for which the double-amputee is charged with firearms violations.
Pistorius denies guilt in both events, which took place before he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013.
But his friend, Darren Fresco, testified today that Pistorius shot a gun through a car's sunroof, after having an altercation with police and months later in a separate event was holding a gun when it fired in a busy Johannesburg restaurant.
In the first incident, Pistorius became furious with a police officer who had pulled over the car Fresco was driving and handled Pistorius' licensed gun, said Fresco. Pistorius later fired the gun out of the car's sunroof without warning, said Fresco.
Fresco's accounts corroborated much of the testimony of a previous witness who was present at the sunroof shooting.
Fresco also testified that at a busy Johannesburg restaurant he handed his gun, a Glock 27 .40 caliber pistol, under the table to Pistorius and the gun fired. Fresco said Pistorius asked him to take the blame for the incident, which he did. The restaurant incident happened in early 2013, about a month before Pistorius killed Steenkamp.
The runner is charged with premeditated murder for the killing of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of February 14, 2013. He also faces three firearms charges, including the two incidents of shooting a gun in public where Fresco was present. Pistorius has pleaded not guilty to all four charges.
When the car Fresco was driving was stopped for speeding in late 2012, Pistorius argued with a police officer who handled his gun, which Pistorius had left on the passenger's seat.
'"You can't just touch another man's gun,'" Fresco recalled Pistorius telling the traffic officer. "Now your fingerprints are all over my gun. So if something happens, you're going to be liable for anything that happens."
Fresco said the altercation with the police ended and they drove away with Samantha Taylor, the runner's girlfriend at the time, who has given a similar account of the episode. Later that day, Pistorius shot out the car's sunroof, Fresco said.
"Without prior warning, he shot out the sunroof," Fresco, who was driving, said of Pistorius, who he said was in the passenger seat.
