Mortensen jurors visit scene of shooting to judge for themselves

      Jurors in the murder trial of former police officer Ron Mortensen had a chance to see the crime scene Tuesday and judge for themselves whether Christopher Brady could have reached from the driver's side of his truck and fired a gun out the passenger window.
      Mortensen, 31, is charged in connection with the Dec. 28 fatal drive-by shooting of 21-year-old Daniel Mendoza.
      Eyewitnesses to the shooting testified earlier in the trial that the passenger of a blue truck fired several shots out the window in an alley near McKellar Circle.
      Brady, also a former officer, came forward 36 hours after the shooting and named Mortensen as the passenger and himself as the driver. He testified that the two were out together on a reckless joyride as part of a night of heavy drinking. Brady, 25, has not been charged in connection with the incident.
      Mortensen's defense lawyer, Frank Cremen, is trying to prove that Brady made up his story to protect himself and that he is the real shooter.
      In his statement to Detective Brent Becker, Brady said he "pulled his gun and stuck it out the window," after he saw Mortensen pull his own gun. He said he did so instinctively because he assumed his friend perceived a threat. Brady said on the witness stand that he really meant he pulled his gun out and stuck it across Mortensen's chest but never out the window.
      In fact, he said, he probably couldn't reach far enough across the truck to get the gun out the window.
      Jurors were allowed to test that hypothesis and any others during the crime-scene trip, Deputy District Attorney Gary Guymon said. Lawyers for both sides were present at the scene but were not allowed to ask questions or suggest what jurors should look at or do, Guymon explained.
      When the jury returned, Brady again took the stand to answer defense questions about changes he has made to his truck since the night of the shooting.
      In addition to a new paint job, Brady removed an $850 custom seat from the cab of the truck and replaced it with a standard bench seat.
      He said he did so because he was concerned his vehicle would be recognized by friends of the victim, an 18th Street gang member. He also said he has not been able to find a job since he resigned the police force in January and he sold the custom seat for $350.
      Cremen also questioned Brady about the route he took to drop Mortensen at home after the shooting and after the two had a few more drinks at a local bar.
      The route Brady chose was not the most direct but would allow him to pass by the crime scene, Cremen noted.
      "You thought maybe something had gone wrong and you wanted to look to see if there were police wagons there," Cremen said.
      Brady said he chose the route arbitrarily.
      A police firearms expert testified for much of the afternoon. He matched the bullets found at the crime scene to Mortensen's off-duty gun and explained that the path of the shots show that some were fired while the truck was moving.
      The defense is expected to start presenting its case this morning in District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski's courtroom.