FORT WORTH -- Steven Lawayne Nelson took the witness stand in his capital murder trial Friday and blamed two friends for the brutal beating and suffocation death of a young Arlington pastor and the bludgeoning of his secretary.
Flanked by Tarrant County sheriff's deputies and with his shackles concealed from jurors, Nelson testified that he waited outside NorthPointe Baptist Church while two friends went inside on March 3, 2011.Nelson said he and friends A.G. and Twist had taken Ecstasy and smoked marijuana and had gone looking for someone to rob.A.G. and Twist went inside the church, he said."I didn't injure nobody or threaten nobody," Nelson said during questioning by his attorney Steve Gordon."You witnessed something horrible, didn't you?" Gordon asked. "Do you feel remorse?""I feel bad," Nelson said. "I wouldn't want that to happen to my family or anybody."Nelson, 25, is charged with capital murder in the slaying of Pastor Clint Dobson, 28. Church secretary Judy Elliott was beaten and left for dead but survived. Dobson's laptop computer and Elliott's credit cards and Mitsubishi Galant were stolen.Nelson maintained his account under sharp questioning by prosecutor Bob Gill but admitted he stepped around the bodies -- they were still alive, he said -- to steal a laptop.Nelson was seen driving the Galant and used the credit cards, and he sold Dobson's laptop to a man at a tire store that day, witnesses have testified."You were so remorseful that your reaction was to grab a laptop?" Gill asked."They were still alive," Nelson said."They were obviously injured and your reaction was to steal from them?" Gill retorted."Yes, sir," Nelson said.Gill also questioned Nelson about his prior convictions, including an aggravated assault case in Dallas County.Nelson was on probation in that case at the time of the church killing and robbery and had completed treatment for anger management just a few days earlier.At Gill's request, Nelson showed jurors the dollar signs tattooed on his eyelids.Nelson took the witness stand after prosecutors introduced the last bit of evidence in their case: records of text messages sent from Nelson's cellphone the day after the killing."I did some s--- the other day, cuz," he texted to an unknown number. "I f----- up, cuz. Real bad."The texts were read by prosecutor Page Simpson over the objection of defense attorney Bill Ray.Then the prosecution rested.Examiner's testimonyEarlier Friday, Tarrant County Medical Examiner Nizam Peerwani testified that Dobson put up a fight before he was likely knocked unconscious by blows on the head. Dobson had 21 injuries, Peerwani said.The injuries "paint a picture of a violent altercation," Peerwani testified. "He was cognizant and aware he was being attacked."The blows, however, were not fatal, Peerwani said. A plastic bag killed Dobson after it was placed so tightly over his head that the young minister's last breath sucked plastic into his mouth.As to the possible presence of other assailants, Peerwani said, "Certainly one [person] could easily have done that."Prosecutors presented evidence this week that Anthony Springs, known as A.G., had an alibi for the time of the killing, which likely occurred between 11 a.m. and noon.Springs was initially arrested but told police he met up with Nelson later that day.Witnesses and cellphone records corroborated his account. Springs has been charged in an unrelated robbery.Forensics experts testified that blood from Dobson and Elliott was found on Nelson's black-and-green counterfeit Air Jordan tennis shoes and that a bloody footprint on an envelope in the church restroom appeared to match the pattern on the bottom of the shoes.The defense did not rest on Friday and could present more testimony Monday. When the defense rests, closing arguments will begin. State District Judge Mike Thomas indicated that jurors could expect to begin deliberations Monday.Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Nelson.Dianna Hunt,817-390-7084Twitter: @DiannaHuntHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
