Judge’s decision on Cowley fatal police shooting comes Thursday

When former West Valley City Detective Shaun Cowley pulled out his gun and fired it twice toward Danielle Willard, was it reasonable for him to believe that his life was in danger?

Prosecutors say it wasn't — that he was never in any danger of being hit by Willard's car as she reversed that November 2012 day.

But Cowley's defense team argued Wednesday that the former detective had less than a second to react to a dangerous situation, and that he perceived his life was being threatened.

After three days of testimony — in which the defense took the unusual step of calling several witnesses of their own — 3rd District Judge L.A. Dever must decide whether there was probable cause for Cowley to stand trial on a second-degree felony manslaughter charge for killing the unarmed 21-year-old woman on Nov. 2, 2012.

But the judge told attorneys on Wednesday that he wanted to "outline his position," and asked them to return Thursday afternoon, when he will announce whether the case will be dismissed or sent to trial.

In their closing arguments, both the defense and prosecutors focused on whether Cowley, 34, had "reasonable belief" that his life was in danger, as he has claimed. Prosecutor Blake Nakamura said Cowley was out of Willard's vehicle's path as she reversed, and that his life was never threatened.

"It wasn't reasonable," Nakamura told the judge. "We don't know why he ultimately decided to use deadly force ... There is no evidence to suggest that Cowley fired at Danielle Willard with the intent to kill her. But he used his weapon in a reckless way."

Dever expressed skepticism during Nakamura's closing argument, interrupting several times to question him about statements made by one of the prosecution's expert witness, who at one point testified that Cowley may indeed have been in danger during the episode.

Defense attorney Paul Cassell asked the judge to throw out the case during his closing argument, saying it was an "unsupported case that should have never been filed."

"What you have to decide today is whether my client, in 1.1 seconds, when placed in a difficult situation, acted with criminal intent," Cassell told Dever.

After the hearing ended Wednesday, both prosecutors and defense attorneys told the news media that they weren't surprised by Dever's decision to not rule immediately from the bench.

"We're pleased that he's going to look at the evidence carefully," Cassell said.

Cowley, who was visibly emotional as he left the courtroom Wednesday, did not comment to news reporters.

"Any time you are facing felony charges, until those charges are dismissed, you are worried," Cassell said of his client. "We are hoping tomorrow will be a good day for Shaun."

The defense team called several witnesses to the stand Wednesday, including Chris Lawrence, who specializes in use-of-force science.

His testimony centered around "the speed of the encounter" — how long Cowley had to react, draw his gun and fire. He estimated that the "critical sequence of events" from when Willard began to reverse and Cowley turned his body, drew his gun and fired twice likely took only 2.5 seconds.

Willard's alleged drug dealer, David Brandon Gines, Jr., was also called to testify Wednesday, but he refused to enter the courtroom.

Gines allegedly sold heroin to Willard just before the shooting, which had prompted Cowley and his partner, Kevin Salmon, to approach her in an apartment building parking lot.

Prosecutors had argued before Dever that Gines' testimony was irrelevant to Cowley's case, but Cassell said Gines would testify that Willard was agitated just before the shooting.

In the end, Dever agreed with prosecutors, ruling that the testimony was not relevant and that Gines — who was never charged in connection with events on the day Willard was killed, but is serving prison time for unrelated convictions — did not have take the witness stand.

Earlier Wednesday, Rosario Gullermo, a resident of the apartment complex where Willard was shot and who saw the fatal event unfold, testified that she saw an officer shoot before she saw Willard's car move from the parking spot.

But Cassell questioned this testimony, pointing to a police report in which Gullermo told officers that the car was "traveling towards the policeman and trying to hit him."

Gullermo denied this version of events, saying through an interpreter, "What was read, I have never said."

Forensic scientist Michael Haag testified Monday that Cowley was likely standing off to the side of Willard's vehicle when he shot and killed her, and not directly behind it like the former detective claimed in a later interview.

But defense attorney Lindsay Jarvis told reporters on Tuesday, "Expert evidence can land people in prison that don't need to be in prison. These are assumptions. These are estimates. These are best guesses. People shouldn't go to prison for 'best guesses.' "

Jarvis pointed out that while there were points of reference that allowed Haag to clearly define the trajectory of several of the bullets fired by Cowley and Salmon, the first and fatal shot fired by Cowley was not as precisely measured. She called this Haag's "best guess" of the bullet trajectory.

Haag said his "best estimate" was all he had for that first bullet, because unlike the others, the bullet traveled through glass and hit Willard's head, leaving no fixed impact points on which he could base his conclusion.

Salmon also fired his gun at Willard, but only after Cowley fired first. One of Salmon's shots struck Willard in the chin, according to court records. Salmon — who has been on paid leave since the shooting — was not charged with a crime.

Cowley was fired by West Valley City — but for allegedly mishandling evidence, not for allegedly shooting Willard.

jmiller@sltrib.com Twitter: @jm_miller