The proceedings Friday in the ongoing trial of three men accused in the murder of Hall County Sheriff's Deputy Blane Dixon was at times dramatic and often emotional.
Some residents in the Highland Avenue area, where Dixon was shot and killed the night of July 7, 2019, testified about the police activity and the hail of gunfire they heard - one man saying the gunshots at one point sounded like fireworks.
Prosecutors played body cam footage from officers, affirming the multiple gunshots.
That same footage gave the jury a closer look at what two Hall County deputies saw as they pursued four suspects said to be part of a reputed criminal crew. Some of the footage was from the body cam of Deputy Dixon; the other was from the body cam of Sgt. Charles Hewell, Dixon's supervisor and best friend.
Hewell described in measured detail the events that led up to the shooting of the deputy. He also became emotional several times as he recalled the night of the shooting, hearing Dixon call out "I'm hit" and then trying to find the suspects while at the same time render aid to his friend.
"We get to Blane and I can tell it's not good," Hewell said, pausing to gain his composure. "So I tell the guys that are around him 'let's get him up, let's get him to the hospital now.'"
Hewell and other officers can be heard pleading for Dixon to "stay with them" as they load him into the patrol car to take him to the hospital.
Hewell also testified about shooting suspect Hector Garcia-Solis after Garcia-Solis fired multiple shots at Dixon. He told ADA Kelly Robertson after he got Dixon into a patrol car, he returned to the location where he had shot Garcia-Solis, calling for a medical unit to come to the scene. He also noted that the other three suspects were still at large at the time, making for an even more tense situation for law enforcement at the scene.
Attorney Robert McNeill, one of the defending attorneys for Garcia-Solis, also quizzed Hewell about shooting the young suspect.
"You hit him a couple of times, right? McNeill asked.
"To my knowledge, I hit him twice...I don't know how many other times," Hewell said.
"And he kept going," asked McNeill.
"Correct," said Hewell.
"And you now know he was a 17-year-old kid," said McNeill.
"I had no idea who he was," said Hewell.
Hewell spent about three hours on the witness stand Friday afternoon before Judge Jason Deal adjourned the day's proceedings around 4 p.m. Court is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Monday, June 28.
