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Provo • Danny LeRoy Logue testified in his own defense Monday morning, telling jurors that he was not the man who killed a Provo man who a drug dealer thought was a "snitch."
Logue told jurors that during the time that 32-year-old Andy Purcell was fatally shot in the early morning hours of May 16, 2011, he had food poisoning and was stuck in a Provo motel parking lot, violently ill.
Earlier that night, Logue went with a friend, Darrell Morris, to meet a drug dealer in the motel parking lot. He testified that he had eaten some barbecue ribs hours earlier that had made him ill.
They waited in the parking lot for a few minutes. No mention was made that Morris had apparently been hired by a different drug dealer to beat up Purcell in exchange for an ounce of methamphetamine, Logue testified.
"I remember [Morris] was on the phone constantly," Logue testified. "We pulled up into the motel parking lot and he's like, 'We've got to wait here.' But I was upset because I felt like I was given bad food or poisoned or something. I was upset because I'm getting sick, I was puking."
Logue said Morris then drove off suddenly, leaving him in the parking lot sick, with no phone and no car. Forty-five minutes later, Morris picked him up again, Logue testified.
Morris claimed in court papers that he had asked Logue to help with the beating and they went together to Purcell's Provo home. Morris said Logue suddenly pulled out a gun and shot the victim, according to plea agreement documents.
But on Monday, Logue insisted that he never went to Purcell's house, and that he had been left in the motel parking lot.
"Are you the triggerman?" defense attorney Brook Sessions asked Monday.
"No," Logue replied. "No, I'm not."
"Were you there when Andy was shot?"
"No. I was not."
Logue said he did not know the name of the motel where he was stranded.
Prosecutors called two women on rebuttal who knew Logue and Morris, were with them on the day before the shootingand connected Logue to a gun. Robin Jackson testified she went to Wal-Mart to buy bullets for the gun at Logue's request the day before the shooting. Brittany Bishop testified that she had a conversation with Logue, where he talked about his gun and she asked why he and Morris were taking a gun to assault someone.
"[He said] he wasn't going to use it," Bishop testified. "It was for protection."
Logue, 49, is on trial in 4th District Court for first-degree felony aggravated murder and second-degree felony possession of a dangerous weapon, along with three other drug-related felony charges.
Both the state and defense rested their cases on Monday. Closing arguments and jury deliberations are expected Wednesday.
Logue is accused of shooting Purcell in the forehead, just days after a Yuri Sanchez Lara offered Morris drugs in exchange to beat up Purcell, who he thought was a "snitch."
Deputy Utah County Attorney Curtis Larson told the jury in opening statements that events were put in motion on May 5, 2011, when Lara got busted for methamphetamine distribution. The drug dealer thought it was Purcell who "snitched" to the police, the prosecutor said. Police, however, have said that the person who snitched on Lara was a woman caught with methamphetamine.
Larson said Lara asked a friend if he knew someone who would beat up someone for him. That friend connected Lara to Morris, who knew Logue.
On the day of the shooting, Morris brought a bat and Logue brought a gun as they headed to Purcell's home, according to Larson.
Larson said Purcell was likely shot at around 2:15 a.m. on May 16, 2011, at which time Provo police responded to a "shots fired" call.
The officers found nothing amiss in the area and left.
"[But] Andy Purcell was laying mortally injured on his porch," Larson said. "He had been shot in the forehead."
Purcell's mother found him about four hours later, still alive, but he died the next day at a hospital.
Morris later told police that Purcell saw them and said, "I know why you're here" and threatened to call police.
"All of a sudden, according to Mr. Morris, Mr. Logue pulls out a gun and shoots several rounds," Larson said.
Morris, 41, pleaded guilty last July to second-degree felony counts of manslaughter and obstruction of justice, along with felony possession of a weapon by a restricted person. He was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for the crimes, according to court records.
Lara, 35, pleaded guilty in October 2012 to manslaughter and four counts of first-degree felony drug possession with intent to distribute. He is serving up to life in prison.
Both Morris and Lara were held in contempt of court during the trial for refusing to testify. Morris was put on the witness stand again on Monday, and he again refused to testify in the case.
If convicted of the murder charge, Logue faces a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
The jury will likely begin deliberating on Wednesday.