From left: Amber Guyger in court. At right: Prosecutor Jason Hermus holds up Botham Jean’s red doormat. (Photo credit: CBS 11 photos)

(CBSDFW.COM) – The state has rested its case in the murder trial of former Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger.

Her defense team will begin presenting its case on Friday.

Prosecutors wrapped up their case focusing on two things:

First, telltale signs around the Southside Flats apartment building that Amber Guyger missed, but they say were too obvious to forgive her actions.

Second, her decision to use a gun if she really thought she had confronted an intruder.

A series of crime scene experts were among the last prosecution witnesses to take the stand against Guyger.

Photos of both Botham Jean’s and Guyger’s apartment were compared with the prosecutor pointing out the differences and the defense pointing out the similarities.

But the red doormat outside Jean’s apartment is what prosecutors continued to bring up as something they argue was too obvious for Guyger to miss when she shot her neighbor claiming she walked inside the wrong apartment.

Prosecutors went over every possible defensive weapon on her police uniform belt she could have resorted to if Jean were an actual threat, including a taser, OC spray, and a knife.

But an attorney for Guyger got a Texas Ranger to suggest those would not have been a trained officer’s first option.

Defense Attorney: “If an officer is faced with a deadly threat which of these is an officer taught to use as a deadly threat?”

Texas Ranger Michael Adcock: “Deadly threat would be the handgun. The weapon.”

Crime lab witnesses testified they found no blood on Guyger’s police uniform which she was wearing when she shot and killed an innocent man.

Prosecutors believe its evidence she made no effort to save Jean’s life moments after shooting him.

The testimony came from a series of crime scene experts were among the last prosecution witnesses to take the stand against Guyger.

After the state rested its case, Jean’s family left the courtroom now expecting to hear Guyger’s side of the story in the coming days.

CBS 11 has been told Guyger will testify, but it’s not clear what day.

With the argument she’s using that this was a terrible mistake, legal experts say she has no choice if she wants to be acquitted.

The defense has several expert witnesses its planning to call, and with the jury sequestered, the judge has announced plans for the trial to continue on Saturday.

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Amber Guyger shot Botham Jean in his apartment in The Cedars neighborhood south of downtown Dallas.

(CNN) — Amber Guyger, the off-duty Dallas police officer charged with killing a 26-year-old man in his own apartment, is expected to take the stand after the defense begins calling witnesses on Friday.

Now the question is when.

More than a year after fatally shooting Botham Jean, Guyger will testify to her version of what unfolded on September 6, 2018. The prosecution, which rested on Thursday, is expected to grill Guyger, possibly questioning her about her actions after she shot Jean.

Jean was on the couch in his shorts, watching TV and eating vanilla ice cream, when Guyger walked in and fired, Jason Hermus, a Dallas County prosecutor, told jurors this week.

Guyger has told police she mistakenly walked into the wrong apartment and thought she saw a burglar. Guyger lived in apartment 1378, one floor below Jean’s unit.

Dallas Police fired Guyger after the shooting.

There were notable differences in the two apartments, prosecutors say

Guyger missed several signs indicating she was on the wrong floor and at the wrong apartment that night, prosecutors argue.

The prosecution on Thursday continued to question witnesses on the differences between Guyger’s and Jean’s apartments in an attempt to demonstrate that the former officer should have realized she was in the wrong unit before she opened fire.

Hermus put Dallas police Det. Stephen Cleary on the stand to explain several photos of the two apartments. Under questioning, he pointed out that Guyger’s apartment had a wooden board displaying photos hanging on the wall, a bookshelf in the corner and a small half-circle table with a vase of flowers against the wall.

The wall behind Guyger’s couch was bare, the photos showed.

Jean’s apartment had art on the wall behind the couch, an ottoman and rug in the living room and a workstation near the bar, Cleary testified.

Texas Ranger Michael Adcock testified that a 3D scan of Jean’s apartment showed that Guyger would’ve been able to see the couch Jean was sitting on, as well as the wall art.

The defense countered by pressing witnesses on the similarities in the hallways leading to their apartments.

This week, Texas Ranger David Armstrong testified that of the nearly 300 residents that investigators interviewed at the complex, nearly a quarter of those who lived in the third and floors had previously put their keys in the wrong door. Even more had parked on the wrong floor and walked to the wrong apartment.

Guyger did not follow burglary protocol, prosecutors argue

Prosecutors have tried to show during testimony that Guyger did not follow department burglar protocol for a burglary call. Protocol dictates Guyger should have taken cover and called for backup, at least one of Guyger’s fellow officers testified.

But the defense argued since Guyger was off-duty and thought she was walking into her own home, she should not be held to that standard.

Guyger was fatigued after working 40 hours in four days and was on “autopilot” when she parked on the wrong floor in the garage where the floors are not clearly marked, defense attorney Robert Rogers said in opening statements on Monday.

As Guyger entered the apartment, she looked up and believed she saw an intruder about 30 feet from her in the dark, Rogers said.

The locking mechanism on Jean’s door was damaged, Armstrong testified, affecting the door’s ability to shut properly at times. Guyger’s defense team said that was one of the reasons she thought someone was burglarizing her home.

“I’m sure, he’s alarmed. But she’s thinking, ‘Oh my God. There’s an intruder in my apartment.’ And she’s face-to-face with him; she’s within 10 yards of him. And he starts approaching her,” Rogers said.

Guyger drew her gun, expecting the sight of the weapon would make him stop, and ordered him to show his hands, Rogers said.

“But he drowns her out and he’s yelling, ‘hey, hey.’ And he’s 25 feet and then he’s 20 feet, and it’s happening like this,” Rogers said, snapping his fingers.

Rogers said Guyger “firmly and reasonably believed that she had no choice, that she had no options but to use her gun to keep from dying.”

Jean saw Guyger’s gun and “leans down and gets shot as he’s coming towards her and falls back,” Rogers said.
But Hermus told jurors the trajectory of the bullet suggests Jean was getting up from a chair when Guyger fired, or he was on his knees, trying to hide from her.

A police body camera showed in court showed Jean on the ground near the couch, with an indentation in the couch’s center cushion and a bowl of food on an ottoman in front of the cushion.

A Dallas County medical examiner testified he couldn’t say where either the shooter or where Jean were positioned, but agreed that Jean was likely bent over in some capacity because the bullet traveled in a downward trajectory.

It entered Jean’s chest above his left nipple and came to rest in a muscle in the abdominal cavity close to the spine, Dr. Chester Gwin testified.

Guyger wasn’t focused on saving Jean’s life, prosecutors say

Prosecutors have sought to show that Guyger was derelict in her efforts to save Jean after shooting him. Prosecutors pointed to a 911 call she made shortly before 10 p.m. in which she said 19 times she was in the wrong apartment.

“When you listen critically to what she is saying, you are going to hear that she is as concerned or more concerned about how this is going to affect her than this poor guy on the floor next to her,” Hermus said.

Guyger said she performed first aid on Jean, an affidavit said.

While she was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, Guyger sent two text messages to her partner on the force, whom prosecutors said she was intimate with — one at 10:02 p.m. saying, “I need you … hurru,” and another a minute later saying, “I f***ed up,” according to the testimony.

Authorities recovered those text messages, but Guyger allegedly deleted other messages, Hermus said. Rather than texting her partner, Guyger should have devoted all of her attention to providing first aid to Jean, Hermus said.

Dallas Police officer Tu Minh Nguyen testified Thursday Jean was “still alive” when officers started doing CPR.

Jean’s condition was “very faint” and he could be heard making grunting noises, the officer said.

CNN’s Darran Simon wrote from Atlanta. Ashley Killough reported from Dallas. Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.

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(DALLAS MORNING NEWS) — Amber Guyger took the stand to start the fifth day of her murder trial Friday morning — the first witness the defense called after the state rested its case against the fired officer Thursday afternoon.

CLICK THIS LINK TO WATCH LIVE OR SEE VIDEO LIVE AT END OF STORY

Guyger, 31, fatally shot 26-year-old accountant Botham Jean in his apartment near downtown Dallas on Sept. 6, 2018. Her defense called the shooting a “tragic, but innocent” mistake and has argued she was reasonable in believing Jean was a burglar when she entered his apartment, a floor above hers.

She hasn’t spoken publicly since the shooting.

The state rested its case Thursday after prosecutors called up Texas Rangers, forensics experts and residents of the South Side Flats apartment where Jean and Guyger lived.

They questioned witnesses about differences between the third and fourth floors of the apartments, trying to make the case that Guyger missed many visual cues that she was on the wrong floor before she killed Jean.

One of Guyger’s attorneys, Robert Rogers, said during opening statements that jurors would hear from Guyger, and the defense wasted no time calling what could be their most important witness.

On Thursday, lead prosecutor Jason Hermus contrasted Guyger’s uniform and gloves from the night of the shooting — clean and free of any blood — with video of the “heroic” efforts of Guyger’s fellow officers who responded to the scene to try to save Jean’s life, frantically performing CPR as he lay bleeding on his apartment floor.

Earlier in the trial, jurors heard from Guyger’s former police partner, with whom she had a sexual relationship, as prosecutors showed the sexually explicit texts the two swapped leading up to the shooting.

Read more: Police treated Amber Guyger special on night of shooting, prosecutor argues

At one point when the jury had been sent out of the courtroom, Texas Ranger David Armstrong — who led the investigation into the shooting — said he did not believe Guyger had committed a crime when she shot Jean.

Armstrong said he believed she acted reasonably in fear for her life, believing Jean was a burglar. He was the law enforcement officer who got a manslaughter arrest warrant for Guyger before she was later indicted on the murder charge she is being tried on.

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An emotional Amber Guyger testifies in court.

(CNN) — Amber Guyger, the ex-Dallas police officer charged with killing a 26-year-old man in his own apartment while she was off duty, broke down on the witness stand Friday, saying she believed she had entered her own home and thought the man she encountered was going to kill her.

“I hate that I have to live with this every single day of my life,” Guyger cried as she testified in her own defense.

“I ask God for forgiveness, and I hate myself every single day … I wish he was the one with the gun who had killed me. I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life,” she said, her voice shaking.

Guyger, who’s charged with murder in the death of Botham Jean, struggled to maintain her composure most of the day. The prosecution suggested, on cross-examination, that she cared more about herself at that moment than the man she had just shot. Guyger at one point turned to the victim’s family in the back of the courtroom and apologized for what she had done.

Jean’s family was largely stoic during a day of emotional testimony. Some occasionally shook theirs heads and whispered among each other and their lawyers.

Guyger’s sister and mother sat in court, each holding tissues in their hands, but rarely growing emotional as the former police officer testified that she was “scared to death” at discovering the apartment door “cracked open” and a silhouetted figure in the darkness inside.

Guyger testified she was still in uniform when she drew her service weapon and shouted: “Let me see your hands! Let me see your hands!”

The silhouetted figure moved toward her in a “fast-paced walk,” she said. She couldn’t see the person’s hands.
“Hey, hey, hey,” she said the person shouted, and she pulled the trigger.

Guyger had earlier been asked by one of her lawyers to describe the way she approached the door to what she thought last September was her apartment.

“I want to go through a few things that happened at that door with you now,” said one of her lawyers, Toby Shook.
“Yes, sir,” replied Guyger.

Then, Guyger’s lips began to quiver as she broke down in tears while stepping down from the witness stand to demonstrate how she carried her police equipment in one hand and tried to open the door with the other.

The judge immediately called a recess, and the jury left the courtroom. If convicted, Guyger faces up to life in prison.

Guyger said she did little CPR on Jean

Guyger also testified Friday about her childhood growing up in Arlington, her affair with her married police partner and her police training. She recounted wanting to become an officer at age 6.

“I wanted to help people, and that was the one career that I could help people,” she said.

Speaking about the day of the shooting, Guyger testified that she was tired on September 6, 2018, after a nearly 14-hour day and “just ready to go home” when she left work.

She said she was having an affair with another officer and had ended the relationship, even though the two shared intimate text messages. They were on the phone as she parked in the garage at home that night, she testified.

“I felt like it was morally wrong,” Guyger said about her relationship with Martin Rivera, the officer.

Later Friday, Dallas County prosecutor Jason Hermus, on cross-examination, sought to poke holes in Guyger’s story, noting that she told responding officers that she believed it was her apartment but said nothing about Jean coming at her.

Guyger admitted under questioning by Hermus that she was trained in CPR but only “did a little CPR” and a sternum rub on the dying man. She testified that her mind was racing, that she was on the phone with a 911 operator. She said it didn’t cross her mind that she had first aid supplies in her backpack.

Still, she found time to text her partner — directly after the shooting and even sending sexual messages days later, Hermus said.

“You made choices and decisions that suited you more than him,” the prosecutor said.

“No, sir,” Guyger responded.

Hermus noted that witnesses who were across the hall during the episode testified that they didn’t hear her demand that Jean show his hands.

“I can’t tell you why,” she said.

“Because you didn’t say that,” Hermus said.

“That’s not true, sir,” she replied.

Hermus asked why Guyger did not back away from the apartment and call for backup instead of confronting her perceived threat. He demonstrated that she didn’t conceal and cover as officers are trained to do when coming upon a burglar.

“That was the only option that went through my head,” she said.

Guyger was reminded that she took an 8-hour deescalation training course five months before the shooting.
“What did you take from that class?” the prosecutor asked.

“I don’t remember,” she replied.

Hermus showed video of Guyger’s friends comforting her after the shooting and asked whether she could imagine what Jean felt in his final moments.

“That’s what hurts,” she said softly.

Prosecutor asks whether she meant to kill Botham

Hermus said Guyger shot Jean twice in the torso, in rapid succession, as she was trained to do.

“When you aimed and pulled the trigger at Mr. Jean, shooting him in center mass where you are trained, you intended to kill Mr. Jean?” the prosecutor asked.

“I did,” she said.

One of the officers who responded to Guyger’s 911 call later testified that if he had confronted an intruder at his home he probably would have taken cover and called for backup rather than shooting the person.

“If I haven’t entered my residence, I would wait for cover,” Keenan Blair said, when asked by Hermus how he would have handled a suspected burglar.

Jean was on the couch in his shorts, watching TV and eating vanilla ice cream, when Guyger walked in and fired, Hermus told jurors this week.

Guyger has told police she mistakenly walked into the wrong apartment and thought she saw a burglar. Guyger lived in Apartment 1378, one floor below Jean’s unit.

Dallas Police fired Guyger shortly after the shooting.

Guyger should have known she was in the wrong unit, prosecutors say

Guyger missed several signs indicating she was on the wrong floor and at the wrong apartment, prosecutors argued.
Several witnesses were questioned on the differences between Guyger’s and Jean’s apartments in an effort to demonstrate the former officer should have realized she was in the wrong unit before she opened fire.

For example, Dallas police Det. Stephen Cleary pointed out that Guyger’s apartment had a wooden board displaying photos hanging on the wall, a bookshelf in the corner and a small half-circle table with a vase of flowers against the wall.

The wall behind Guyger’s couch was bare, the photos showed.

But Jean’s apartment had art on the wall behind the couch, an ottoman and rug in the living room, and a workstation near the bar, Cleary testified.

The defense countered by pressing witnesses on the similarities in the hallways leading to their apartments.

This week, Texas Ranger David Armstrong testified that of the nearly 300 residents that investigators interviewed at the complex, nearly a quarter of those who lived in the third and fourth floors had previously put their keys in the wrong door. Even more had parked on the wrong floor and walked to the wrong apartment.

She should have focused on saving Jean but texted her partner, prosecutors say

Prosecutors also tried to show Guyger did not follow department burglar protocol for a burglary call. Guyger should have taken cover and called for backup, per protocol, at least one of her fellow officers testified.

But the defense argued since Guyger was off-duty and thought she was walking into her own home, she should not be held to that standard.

She was fatigued after working 40 hours in four days and was on “autopilot” when she parked on the wrong floor in the garage where the floors are not clearly marked, defense attorney Robert Rogers said in opening statements on Monday.

As Guyger entered the apartment, she looked up and believed she saw an intruder about 30 feet from her in the dark, Rogers said.

The locking mechanism on Jean’s door was damaged, Armstrong testified, affecting the door’s ability to shut properly at times. Guyger’s defense team said that was one of the reasons she thought someone was burglarizing her home.

But after the shooting, Guyger was derelict in her efforts to save Jean after shooting him, prosecutors said, pointing to a 911 call she made shortly before 10 p.m. in which she said 19 times she was in the wrong apartment.

“When you listen critically to what she is saying, you are going to hear that she is as concerned or more concerned about how this is going to affect her than this poor guy on the floor next to her,” Hermus said.

Guyger sent two text messages to her partner on the force, whom prosecutors said she was intimate with — one at 10:02 p.m. saying, “I need you … hurry,” and another a minute later saying, “I f***ed up,” according to the testimony.
Authorities recovered those text messages, but Guyger allegedly deleted other messages, Hermus said. Guyger should have devoted all of her attention to providing first aid to Jean, Hermus said, instead of texting her partner.

Dallas Police officer Tu Minh Nguyen testified Thursday Jean was “still alive” when officers started doing CPR, but his condition was “very faint” and he could be heard making grunting noises, the officer said.

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British couple Sue and Roger Clarke were jailed at a court in Lisbon for cruise ship drug smuggling

(BBC) — A British couple have been jailed for eight years by a Portuguese court for drug smuggling on a cruise ship.

Roger and Sue Clarke, both 72, were caught last year while attempting to smuggle 9kg (20lbs) of cocaine with a street value of £1m.

The couple, from Bromley in London, were on the Marco Polo which was sailing from the Caribbean to Europe.

A raid on their cabin as the ship entered Lisbon found the Class A drugs in the lining of four suitcases.

Judge Margarida Alves dismissed the couple’s story they were duped into bringing the cases for a friend.

As she sentenced them to eight years, Mrs Clarke began crying, while her husband turned to her and said “we will be 80 when we get out”.

The judge said she was determined not to let Portugal become a gateway to Europe for drugs.

In court
By Damian Grammaticas, Europe correspondent, Lisbon

As the presiding judge delivered her verdict the two British pensioners stood holding hands in the little courtroom in Lisbon’s Campus de Justicia.

“Eight years for drug trafficking” the judge said. Roger Clarke, visibly shaken, lifted his hands to his head and with tears in his eyes he turned to his wife.

Sue Clarke began crying and the judge said the couple’s story, that they had been given empty suitcases in St Lucia to bring to the UK for a friend, wasn’t credible.

She said their prior conviction for smuggling cannabis to Norway should have made them suspicious of such a request.

“You are not drug users,” Judge Margarida Alves said. “You clearly did this because of the high profits you could make.”

As he left court Roger Clarke turned to me saying “the truth needs to get out. Come and see me in prison and I will tell you”.

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(PRESS RELEASE) — Motorists are hereby notified that the John Compton Highway and Darling Road will be closed to traffic on the following dates and times to facilitate the unveiling of the monument at the Castries Roundabout.

Sunday, Sep. 29 – 10 a.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 1 – 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 3 – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Motorists are asked to utilize the La Clery Road via the Calvary to access the city of Castries.

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Amber Guyger on trial

(WASHINGTON POST) — On the fifth day of her murder trial, Amber Guyger told a packed courtroom that Botham Jean was already dying by the time she realized she made a mistake.

It was the first time the public heard from Guyger since the former Dallas police officer walked into the apartment above hers, thinking it was her own, and shot and killed Jean, her 26-year-old upstairs neighbor.

“That’s when everything, it just started to spin,” Guyger said, recounting the night of Sept. 6, 2018, when she fired two bullets at a man she said she thought was burglarizing her home.

But Guyger, a white woman who had just finished a long shift at work, was on the wrong floor of the building. In a matter of seconds, prosecutors said, Jean — an unarmed black man watching TV and eating ice cream in his own apartment — was on the ground, a fatal gunshot wound in his chest.

“I shot an innocent man,” Guyger said Friday, during hours of testimony, her sobs at times muddling her words.

“I wish he was the one with the gun and killed me,” the 31-year-old said. “I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life, and I’m so sorry. This is not about hate; it’s about being scared.”

In Dallas, the shooting touched off protests and demands for police reform. Many see the case as another egregious example of a white officer killing an unarmed black man, part of a pattern of police wielding deadly force disproportionately against people of color.

But the unusual facts of this case have already made it unique among other high-profile fatal police shootings, most of which are never even prosecuted. Guyger, who was fired from the police force shortly after she killed Jean, was first arrested for manslaughter. A grand jury later indicted her on a murder charge.

During the trial, which began Monday, her defense attorneys have argued that she made a mistake, calling it “awful and tragic, but innocent.” They’ve said she was within her rights to shoot Jean because she believed she was in her own home, acting in self-defense. But the prosecution has argued that she was negligent — armed, distracted and too quick to draw and fire her weapon.

Guyger’s lawyers said she was exhausted, on autopilot as she parked on the wrong floor of her building’s garage and walked down a fourth-floor hallway, one level above her third-floor unit.

When she arrived at the apartment she thought was hers, she didn’t notice it was number 1478, and not her own 1378. She didn’t notice Jean’s red doormat, either. Prosecutors said she wasn’t paying attention, too caught up in a sexually explicit conversation she was having with her partner on the police force.

On Friday, Guyger reenacted what came next, when she went to open the apartment door. Standing at the front of the courtroom, she slung her backpack, her bulletproof vest and her lunchbox over one arm and pretended to pull her keys out of her pocket with the other.

That’s when she said she first heard someone inside. She opened the door and said she saw a “silhouette figure” in the apartment. She drew her gun, she testified, and yelled, “Let me see your hands!”

Jean responded by shouting, “Hey,” and walking quickly toward her, she said.

“I was scared he was going to kill me,” she said.

During cross-examination, lead prosecutor Jason Hermus asked Guyger if she was shooting to kill, falling back on her police training.

“When you aimed and pulled the trigger at Mr. Jean, shooting him in center mass, right where you are trained, you intended to kill Mr. Jean?” he asked.

“I did,” she replied.

Hermus also questioned why Guyger opened the door in the first place. If she suspected someone was inside, he argued, she could have taken cover and called for help.

“Had you done any one of those things, Mr. Jean would probably be alive today, right?” Hermus asked.

“Yes, sir,” Guyger said.

The prosecutor argued that Guyger wasn’t being truthful about asking Jean to show his hands, pointing out that none of the other apartment building residents who testified said they heard her loud commands.

That, plus the bullet’s downward trajectory — which, according to a medical examiner’s testimony, showed Jean was shot while standing up or “in a cowering position” — indicated that Guyger shot without warning a man who was not threatening, prosecutors said.

Guyger said she then performed CPR and a sternum rub on Jean as she called 911 and waited for medics to arrive. But the prosecution accused her of not doing enough to help, asking why she hadn’t used first-aid supplies she carried with her police gear.

Guyger’s lawyers have argued that she knew Jean was in critical condition, beyond her ability to help, and that she thought calling for medical personnel was the best option.

“The state he was in,” she testified, “I knew it wasn’t good.”

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Amber Guyger (left) and Botham Jean

(CBS NEWS) — The former Dallas police officer standing trial for murder in the shooting death of her neighbor broke down in tears as she testified in her own defense Friday morning. Amber Guyger began crying and trembling as she recalled approaching her neighbor Botham Jean’s door before fatally shooting him.

Guyger has said she thought Jean’s apartment was her own when she opened his door and shot him, mistaking him for a burglar. After an attorney prompted her to come down from the stand to demonstrate how she opened Jean’s door, Guyger began sobbing uncontrollably, prompting a judge to call a brief recess.

Guyger, who is white, was returning home from a 13-and-a-half hour shift and was off duty but still in uniform when she shot Jean, a St. Lucia native who was black and worked as an accountant. Guyger was later fired and charged with murder.

Her testimony in court Friday marked the first time the public has heard directly from the 31-year-old former officer about her account of events.

Taking the stand just before 9 a.m., Guyger admitted she had exchanged explicit texts with her Dallas police partner, Martin Rivera, earlier the day she shot Jean. She said she was on the phone with Rivera when she drove to what she said she believed was the third floor of her apartment building’s garage and parked. Guyger had actually parked on the building’s fourth floor, where Jean lived directly above her. She testified the levels of the parking garage were not clearly marked.

Guyger denied that she had plans to meet Rivera at her apartment that night, as the prosecution had suggested in opening arguments. She said Rivera had never been to her apartment. Rivera, she said, typically called her, but she never called him because “I knew it was wrong and I never knew where he was.”

When a defense attorney asked whether Rivera was married, she replied, “Yes.”

When court resumed, Guyger appeared composed. She testified that she returned to what she thought was her own apartment to find the door ajar and heard “shuffling,” and felt “pure fear” because she thought an intruder was inside. She said she opened the door and saw a “silhouette” approaching her. She said she yelled, “Show me your hands” twice and opened fire because the figure was “coming at me” and she couldn’t see his hands.

“I was scared he was going to kill me,” Guyger said.

Later, she began sobbing again when she was asked to describe how she felt about shooting Jean.

“I feel like a terrible person. I feel like a piece of crap,” Guyger said. “I hate that I have to live with this every single day of my life.”

Guyger said she’s asked God for forgiveness and said she feels like she doesn’t deserve to be with her family and friends.

“I wish he was the one with the gun and he killed me,” Guyger said through tears. “I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life. I am so sorry.”

Defense attorneys have argued that the layout of the Dallas apartment complex was confusing and that it wasn’t unusual for residents to mistake others’ apartments for their own. But prosecutors have said Guyger overlooked numerous indicators that she was in the wrong place and suggested she was distracted by the sexual exchanges with Rivera.

On cross-examination, Dallas County prosecutor Jason Hermus questioned Guyger’s assertion that she had stopped a sexual relationship with Rivera because he was married and she thought it was “morally wrong.” Hermus emphasized that Guyger was still exchanging sexual text messages with him, including nude photographs.

“Your moral code puts sex off-limits, but everything else is fair game?” Hermus asked.

“I did do that,” Guyger said, admitting to sending the pictures.

Guyger admitted she later deleted the text exchanges, which she said she usually did.

“I was ashamed I was in a relationship with him,” Guyger said. “It’s embarrassing.”

Prosecutors have argued Guyger never faced a threat from Jean, who was sitting on his couch eating a bowl of ice cream when Guyger entered. Hermus honed in on Guyger’s assertion that she was scared during the encounter, asking her if she could imagine the fear Jean must have felt. Hermus emphasized that Guyger could have chosen to take cover rather than opening fire.

Prosecutors have also asserted that Guyger should have done more to try and help Jean after she shot him, but was more concerned about herself, repeatedly telling a 911 operator she was going to lose her job. Guyger said she tried to help Jean by doing chest compressions and performing a “sternum rub” to try to keep him conscious.

On cross-examination, she admitted she was using one hand to perform the chest compressions while calling 911 with the other. She also admitted she stopped the life-saving efforts to go outside and meet the responding officers, and said she texted Rivera once the other officers told her to go outside.

“When you went out into the hall, you chose to do that even though you knew you should be giving that man life-saving treatment?” Hermus asked.

“Yes, sir,” Guyger replied.

Guyger finished her testimony Friday afternoon, after which the defense called a series of witnesses who lived in the same apartment complex and had gone to the wrong apartment by mistake.

Then, with the jury out of the courtroom, the prosecution and defense wrangled over what kind of testimony would be allowed from Texas Ranger Sargeant David Armstrong, the lead investigator on the case. The judge ruled that Armstrong could tell the jury in general about what kinds of physical sensations a police officer might experience when confronting a deadly threat, but could not opine about the reasonableness of Guyger’s actions.

Armstrong previously testified outside the jury’s presence that he felt Guyger’s use of force was reasonable and that she did not commit a crime.

Court was expected to resume on Saturday.

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(GIS) — The government of Saint Lucia has placed citizen safety high on its medium-term development agenda as it seeks to reduce serious crimes by 45 percent by the year 2022. Part of the approach is to improve policing by increasing the number of officers.

Prime Minister Allen Chastanet, on Sep. 20, addressed the graduating class of special reserve officers. He said that the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force has responded positively to the changes.

“The standards of the facility were poor, the amount of equipment was inadequate, and the court system almost seemed like it was against us rather than with us,” he said. “My government has made every effort to increase the amount of resources that the police have. Today, you are evidence of that next step in recognizing that we need to have more officers in the streets.”

It is intended that the 40 new special reserve officers will be assigned to key areas in Castries, Micoud, Vieux Fort and Soufriere.

Commandant of the Police Academy, Lesenta Desir Dolor, welcomed the graduating class.

“Today is an important day for the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) and Saint Lucia by extension because you have added to the number of officers patrolling the streets of Saint Lucia,” she said. “On behalf of the RSLPF I welcome all of you to the commencement exercise of the special reserve police course.”

The training exercise lasted for three weeks.

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Fired Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger, center, leaves the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Guyger is accused of shooting and killing Botham Jean, an unarmed 26-year-old neighbor in his own apartment last year. She told police she thought his apartment was her own and that he was an intruder. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)

(AP) — The jury deciding the fate of a former Dallas police officer who shot and killed her unarmed black neighbor heard around five minutes of testimony on day six of the trial before being sent home.

Amber Guyger, 31, who is white, is on trial for murder after she fatally shot 26-year-old Botham Jean, an accountant who was alone in his apartment when she came through his front door thinking it was her own.

On Saturday, before the jury was seated, former Dallas police chief Craig Miller was called by the defense as an expert witness to testify about temporary condition called “inattentional blindness,” which he said is not universally accepted in the scientific community.

He said he thought Guyger was justified in shooting Jean, based on “the totality of the evidence.” The judge ordered that he wouldn’t be allowed to say that in front of a jury, but will allow him to testify to a narrow range of issues related to officer distraction.

On Friday, Guyger testified that she mistook Jean’s fourth-floor apartment for her own, which is one floor below. She said she parked on the wrong level of the apartment complex, and walked into the unlocked door thinking it was her own. She says she killed Jean in self-defense, mistakenly thinking he was a burglar in her apartment who would harm her.

“I hate that I have to live with this every single day of my life and I ask God for forgiveness, and I hate myself every single day,” Guyger told the jury.

The jury will consider whether Guyger is guilty of murder, a lesser crime such as manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, or if she is not guilty.

On Saturday, they heard again from David Armstrong of the Texas Department of Public Safety, for about five minutes. He said that she may not have had a normal perception in the tense situation.

As with Miller, Armstrong told lawyers that he believed Guyger’s actions were reasonable, but the jury was not present.

Jurors will report back to the court on Monday at 9:30 a.m.

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Two males including a special police constable were arrested over the weekend in Vieux Fort for possession of a firearm, according to sources.

The firearm, a .45 handgun, was recovered from a vehicle in which the two suspects were travelling in after Vieux Fort police stopped the vehicle and searched it.

The incident occurred between Friday night and Saturday morning, sources said.

A third male was arrested for insulting language towards the officers.

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(BET) — Today, September 29, would’ve been slain Dallas resident Botham Jean’s 28th birthday.

During his vigil, Botham’s mother Allison Jean described her son as a man who at an early age dedicated himself to Christianity and approached his parents at age 8 to be baptized. He would eventually teach his mother’s church choir how to read music and arranged singers by sopranos, altos, bass, and tenor.

Botham Jean attended Harding University, a private Christian school in Arkansas. He was accepted to the university in 2011 and moved to the United States at the age of 19.

On Monday, just a day after Botham Jean’s birthday, Amber Guyger’s trial will enter its seventh day. On Saturday, jurors heard the brief testimony one of the defense’s witnesses.

Amber Guyger has been charged with murder for shooting and killing Botham Jean in his own apartment on Sept. 6, 2018. Guyger has pleaded not guilty.

Botham Jean was born in Saint Lucia on September 29, 1991. After his passing, more than 1,500 people attended his funeral. Mourners wore red neckties and roses in honor of Jean’s favorite color. Virally, the hashtag #BeLikeBo was created in honor of Botham’s nickname and life.

Social media also reflected on Botham Jean’s life.

Happy birthday, Botham. You will not be forgotten.

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(FOX 4 NEWS) — Sunday marks what would have been Botham Jean’s 28th birthday.

Monday morning, his family will return to the courtroom for the start of week two of the Amber Guyger murder trial.

Guyger took the stand on Friday, saying she believed Jean was in her apartment when she shot and killed him.

He was actually sitting in his own unit one floor up.

The defense has not rested its case, and could continue calling more witnesses Monday.

We already heard from Amber Guyger, herself, as the first witness for the defense. She testified during an emotional three hours on the stand Friday.

“I wish he was the one with the gun that killed me. I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life. I’m so sorry,” Guyger said during her testimony.

Guyger testified that Botham Jean was coming toward her and she feared for her life, yelling, “Let me see your hands,” before shooting him.

She said she did some chest compressions, using her left hand while calling 911, then stopped CPR altogether to text her then-partner, with whom she was in a sexual relationship, to say, “I need help.”

The prosecution argued that she was only concerned about herself, and provided records that she had just taken an eight-hour de-escalation course, and had the training to know she could have taken cover and called for backup if she did believe Jean to be a burglar, rather than shoot him.

The defense then presented neighbors who testified about just how confusing the apartment complex can be. One admitted that he too once went into the wrong apartment.

Texas Ranger David Armstrong, the lead investigator in the case, who was also called to testify for the state, returned to the stand Saturday as an expert for the defense.

He talked about what it might have been like for Guyger in those moments before she pulled the trigger.

“You may not hear at the normal volume that you normally would because you’re under stress. You may have vision narrowing or tunnel vision, which means you are only focusing on what is directly in front of you, not in your periphery. You may also experience short term memory loss,” he said.

It’s unclear whether jurors will hear from another expert for the defense, Craig Miller.

The retired Dallas police deputy chief testified without the jury present Saturday that Guyger could have experienced “inattentional blindness.”

“It’s the tendency of the human brain to filter out visual images that are not relevant to the primary target,” he explained.

The judge has not allowed defense experts, Miller and Armstrong, to share their opinions with the jury.

Armstrong said that he does not believe Guyger committed a crime, and Miller said her actions were reasonable.

Day seven of the trial begins Monday at 9:30 a.m., an hour later than usual for this trial.

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Amber Guyger shot Botham Jean in his apartment in The Cedars neighborhood south of downtown Dallas.

(DALLAS MORNING NEWS) — The defense rested its case Monday in the murder trial of former police officer Amber Guyger for killing Botham Jean in his Dallas apartment last year, setting the stage for each side to present closing arguments.

Guyger, 31, has said she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own the night of Sept. 6, 2018, and fatally shot 26-year-old Jean thinking he was a burglar.

Throughout the trial, her defense has presented the shooting as a “tragic, but innocent” mistake. The prosecution has questioned how Guyger missed visual cues that would have told her she was in the wrong apartment and has said Guyger didn’t provide proper first aid to Jean after she shot him.

Court was in session but abbreviated on Saturday — jurors only heard five minutes of testimony before recessing for the day.

Prosecutors and Guyger’s defense spent much of the morning in a hearing outside the jury’s presence in which the defense tried to certify Craig Miller, a former Dallas ISD chief and former Dallas deputy chief, as an expert witness.

The defense wanted jurors to hear testimony from Miller and Texas Ranger David Armstrong about their beliefs that Guyger was reasonable in shooting Jean based on her belief that he was an intruder in her apartment.

But state District Judge Tammy Kemp ruled that neither of them could offer testimony on Guyger’s “reasonableness” the night of the shooting. That will be left up to each juror.

After the prosecution rested its case Thursday, Guyger was her defense team’s first witness when she took the stand Friday morning.

She tearfully recounted the night of Sept. 6, 2018, which she said she would always regret. She told jurors she shot Jean because she was afraid.

“I was scared whoever was inside of my apartment was going to kill me, and I’m sorry,” Guyger said through tears, her voice shaking. “I have to live with that every single day.”

During cross-examination, prosecutor Jason Hermus grilled the former police officer, asking why she didn’t call for backup when she heard “shuffling” inside what she thought was her apartment.

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A special police constable and another man were granted bail on firearm-related charges when they appeared in court on Monday, September 30, police said in a press release.

The officer, Jayvan John, a resident of La Clery, Castries, and Lathony Blanchard, a resident of Corinth, Gros Islet were on Sunday, September 29 both charged for the possession of firearm and ammunition without a valid licence contrary to section 22 of the firearms act, police said.

Both men were granted bail in the sum of $5,000 cash or suitable surety on each count when they appeared in the second district court on Monday, Sep 30, police said.

The court also ordered the defendants to surrender their travel documents and report once weekly to a police station.

Police said both men were arrested on Friday, September 27 in Vieux Fort after a firearm was recovered during a search of a vehicle the men were travelling in.

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(USA TODAY) — Jurors heard starkly contrasting versions of what happened the night a Dallas police officer fatally shot a neighbor she mistook for a burglar last September, as prosecutors and the defense made their closing arguments in Amber Guyger’s murder trial Monday.

Guyger, who is white, has maintained her shooting of upstairs neighbor Botham Jean, a black accountant from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, was a tragic mistake partly caused by fatigue as she went home after a 13-hour shift.

Assistant District Attorney Jason Fine, who began his closing argument by reading from Guyger’s testimony, called that interpretation of the events “absurd’’ and “garbage,’’ saying Guyger should have known she was in the wrong apartment.

“It’s not a mistake. It’s a series of unreasonable decisions,’’ Fine said. “Nobody had to die. She caused his death. She acted unreasonably.’’

Guyger, 31, has claimed self-defense, saying she feared for her safety when she went into the apartment believing it was her home and found the door unlocked. Guyger said she spotted Jean in the dark apartment, thought he was an intruder and shot him with her service gun when he failed to obey her command to put his hands up.

Jean, 26, lived on the fourth floor directly above Guyger, who said she parked on the wrong level by mistake. The front door of his unit opened when Guyger put in her key because of a defective lock and latch.

Defense lawyer Toby Shook told the jury that Guyger had to make a split-second decision and her actions were reasonable, and the deadly outcome was the result of “a series of horrible mistakes.’’

“You’ll never see a case like this that’s so tragic,’’ Shook said. “So tragic.”

The week-long case is now in the hands of the jury, which will decide whether Guyger is guilty of murder or a lesser crime like manslaughter, or whether she should be acquitted. Jurors began deliberating Monday afternoon.

During her testimony on Friday, the first time she spoke publicly about that fateful night, Guyger wept as she expressed remorse for the killing.

“I hate that I have to live with this every single day of my life and I ask God for forgiveness, and I hate myself every single day,” Guyger said as she looked across the courtroom at Jean’s family. “I wish he was the one with the gun and he killed me. I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life.’’

It’s not clear whether Guyger, who was fired by the Dallas Police Department after the incident, attempted to give Jean first aid as he lay dying from a gunshot wound to the chest, although she acknowledged her uniform was clean of blood.

Guyger also testified that she exchanged texts with her police partner while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

Shook said prosecutors were trying to appeal to the jurors’ emotions by drawing that testimony, which he said was no reason to find her guilty.

“You can hate her for sending that text. You can be angry with her,’’ Shook said. “You can hate her, but you can’t convict her.’’

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Amber Guyger (left) broke down in tears when she took to the stand during the trial and apologized for shooting dead her neighbor, Botham Jean. But prosecutors have slammed her testimony as ‘rubbish’

(DAILY MAIL) — The judge in Amber Guyger’s murder trial has ruled that jurors can consider the stand your ground law in their verdict after the white cop shot dead her black neighbor when she allegedly mistakenly entered his apartment thinking it was her own.

Jurors started deliberating on Monday afternoon following a week of testimony in the 31-year-old’s murder trial in Dallas, Texas.

Guyger is on trial for shooting dead 26-year-old Botham Jean in his own apartment in September last year when she was off-duty from the Dallas Police Department.

Despite objections from prosecutors, Judge Tammy Kemp ruled on Monday that jurors could consider Castle Doctrine, otherwise known as stand your ground, when considering their verdict.

The law allows a person to use deadly force in protecting a home if someone is trying to forcibly enter.

Guyger’s defense attorneys had argued that she allegedly believed she was in her own apartment at the time and thought Jean was an intruder.

The judge also told the jury they could consider murder and manslaughter during their deliberations.

During closing arguments earlier on Monday, prosecutors slammed Guyger’s claims that she shot dead Jean because she thought he was an intruder as ‘garbage’ and ‘absurd’.

Assistant District Attorney Jason Fine said Guyger was an ‘intruder’ in Jean’s apartment and that the off-duty officer should have known she was in the wrong residence.

In front of jurors, the prosecutor scrunched up a copy of Guyger’s testimony, which she delivered tearfully last week.

‘It’s not a mistake. It’s a series of unreasonable decisions,’ Fine said, adding that Guyger wasn’t thinking like a ‘reasonable person’ that day.

Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the victim’s family, released a statement late Monday saying the jury in is weighing “the value of a black life’.

In her testimony on Friday, Guyger broke down in tears when she took to the stand and apologized for shooting dead her neighbor.

One of Guyger’s defense attorneys argued in his closing arguments that her belief she was killing an intruder in her home was entirely reasonable.

Defense attorney Toby Shook told jurors that the shooting was a result of ‘a series of horrible mistakes’.

Shook said Guyger opened fire after making a ‘split-second decision’.

The defense attorney noted that other residents in the complex had made the same mistake and gone to the wrong apartment.

Guyger’s testimony on Friday marked the first time the public heard directly from her since Jean’s killing.

She reenacted the moment she arrived at the wrong apartment thinking it was her own during her testimony.

She said she put her key in the apartment lock and the door opened because it hadn’t been fully closed.

Guyger said she immediately drew her gun because she thought someone was in her home. She testified that she was ‘scared to death’ when she opened the door fully and saw a silhouetted figure standing in the darkness inside.

She told the jury she shouted at Jean: ‘Let me see your hands, let me see your hands’.

Guyger explained she couldn’t see his hands and that he began coming toward her at a ‘fast-paced’ walk, yelling ‘hey, hey, hey’ in an ‘aggressive voice’.

She said that is when she fired her gun twice.

‘I was scared he was going to kill me,’ she said.

She said she intended to kill him when she pulled the trigger because that’s what she had been trained to do as a police officer.

During her testimony, she recounted police training that focused on learning to control suspects and the importance of seeing their hands, which kicked in as she spotted Jean.

When asked how she felt about killing an innocent man, she said through tears: ‘No police officer ever would want to hurt an innocent person.

‘I feel like a terrible person. I feel like a piece of cr**. I hate that I have to live with this every single day of my life. I feel like I don’t deserve the chance to be with my family and friends.

‘I wish he was the one with the gun and had killed me. I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life. I am so sorry. This is not about hate, it’s about being scared that night.’

Guyger was off duty but still in uniform when she shot Jean in his home on the evening of September 6, 2018.

She told investigators that after a 13.5 hour shift she parked on the fourth floor of her apartment complex’s garage – rather than the third floor where she lived – and found the apartment’s door ajar.

Believing she was at her own apartment and seeing a silhouette of a figure who didn’t respond to verbal commands, Guyger said she fired two shots at Jean that killed him.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that Guyger should have noticed she was on the wrong floor, while her defense attorneys said she fired in self-defense based on the mistaken belief that Jean was a burglar.

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Videos of a male student being bullied by another male student on a moving bus have surfaced on social media. And many viewers have — not surprisingly — responded with disgust. (SEE VIDEOS BELOW STORY)

The students are reportedly from a prominent all-boys school in Saint Lucia.

In one of the videos, the victim asks: “What did I do to you?” and “What I do you?” as the bully, who looks much older, orders him to sit down, then punches and chokes him.

None of the other students intervened.

One of the many persons who saw the video wrote on Facebook: “…. what a shame. I hope this kid’s parents take legal action against the child and the driver of this bus.”

Another said: “These college boys, then his mum will say he’s a good boy.”

Other persons questioned why the bus driver did not intervene.

A viewer told St. Lucia News Online that something needs to be done about the incident.

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Amber Guyger (left) and Botham Jean

(DALLAS MORNING NEWS) — A Dallas County jury convicted fired officer Amber Guyger of murder for fatally shooting Botham Jean in his apartment last year.

Cheers broke out in the hallway outside the courtroom after the ‘guilty’ verdict was announced.

Jurors will now resume deliberating to decide Guyger’s punishment.

Guyger, 31, fatally shot 26-year-old Botham Jean in his apartment last year and has said she mistook his apartment for her own and thought Jean was a burglar.

Jurors began deliberating Monday after the prosecution and Guyger’s defense presented closing arguments.

Guyger’s defense team urged the jury to think “coolly and calmly” about the case, which they cast as a tragic mistake. They have said Guyger made a “series of horrible mistakes” that led to her shooting Jean out of fear for her life.

But the prosecution said arguments of self-defense don’t apply to Guyger because Jean was not a threat. They said Guyger had other options besides killing Jean and that she acted unreasonably by failing to notice she wasn’t at her apartment.

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SMC’s Principal Don Howell (right) says everyone is saying the video of the bullying (left) is ‘unacceptable’

St. Mary’s College (SMC) Principal Don Howell has confirmed that he, as well as teachers and students of the all-boys’ school, have received the viral videos of the bullying incident involving his students and that the matter is under investigation, according to The Voice newspaper. (See videos below story)

In one of the three videos obtained by St. Lucia News Online, which broke the story on Tuesday, an older-looking student punches and chokes another student on board a moving bus, filled with other SMC students.

The incident reportedly occurred on the afternoon of Friday, September 27, The Voice reported. CLICK HERE TO READ THE VOICE STORY

Howell told The Voice that the “entire school community is appalled” at the behaviour of the bully.

“‘This is unacceptable’ is what their words are,” Howell is quoted as saying by The Voice. “This is not the kind of behaviour we expect from St. Mary’s College students. The school is totally against and cannot tolerate such behaviour.”

According to the newspaper, the parents of the two students have been notified.

In one of the videos, the victim asks: “What I do you? as the bully orders him to sit down, then punches and chokes him.

None of the other students intervened.

One of the many persons who saw the video wrote on Facebook: “…. what a shame. I hope this kid’s parents take legal action against the child and the driver of this bus.”

Another said: “These college boys, then his mum will say he’s a good boy.”

Other persons questioned why the bus driver did not intervene.

A viewer told St. Lucia News Online that something needs to be done about the incident.

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