Today is a relatively short but dramatic day in court for Pistorius. Mr. Charl Johnson retook the stand as an ear-witness to the shooting. He is cross-examined by the defense's Mr. Roux, who pounds the witness about "inconsistencies." Every tiny thing is dissected and hammered. The witness Mr Johnson holds up and continues to state that he thought there had been five or six shots when, in fact, there were only four. "So what else are you wrong about" is the gist. The defense wants to show that Mr' Johnson deliberately tailored his statement to match his wife's. Witness said it's not a coincidence when two people are standing side by side that they hear the same thing and their statements would match. Defense is suggesting collusion. Defense says there are six instances where Johnson and his wife use the exact same words and the witness essentially says So What. Then the defense attorney Mr. Roux begins to literally rant about collusion and the dishonesty of witnesses and finally, finally the court called him down. Then Mr. Roux slows down to a crawl and examines the idea that initially Mr. Johnson and his wife had thought that they were hearing a housebreaking and thought that the husband had been shot in front of the wife. It's endless with Roux today. Finally there's an objection from the prosecution that he's not asking questions but rather posing propositions. Roux is saying that no matter what they believe, what they actually heard was the sound of the cricket bat breaking down the bathroom door and not gunshots at all. And he is going on and on because "a man's life is at stake." There's now repetition about Johnson measuring his doors in the night and the surprise both he and his wife felt when they heard Oscar Pistorius had shot Reeva Steenkamp.
The cricket bat is brought into the courtroom wrapped in plastic. Then because Mr. Roux cannot find Mr. Johnson's original notes, they go on to another witness and Mr. Johnson steps down but will have to come back to be asked about those original notes he made before he gave his "version" to the police.
The prosecution is seen "briefing" Pistorius' ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor whose mother has given an interview to the press saying she's glad her daughter is out of Pistorius' "claws." Taylor is one of 107 witnesses to be called. Then Pistorius was asked to review a copy of the police report for accuracy of his statement to police. (Huh?) Before it's shown to any witness. He does that
The next witness was brought by the prosecution to testify that Oscar Pistorius accidentally discharged a pistol in a crowded restaurant. As he took the stand, Kevin Lerena was asked if he wanted a privacy order and he declined. He's a boxer and is prepared to be an object of the press scrum surrounding this case.
Kevin Lerena is a professional boxer and friend to Pistorius. He recalled that he and Pistorius and two other sports friends were having dinner in Johannesburg. Apparently, a pistol dropped out of Pistorius' pocket and fired as it hit the ground. There was a hole in the floor and Lerena had blood on his toe from being grazed by the bullet. The restaurant was full of people. One of the friends with Pistorius at dinner was Darren Fresco. The prosecution confirmed that there was a child sitting next to the Pistorius table. The friend Darren Fresco told the restaurant manager Mrs. Loupis, that the gun had accidentally fallen out of the pocket of his track suit and had fired when it hit the floor. The restaurant manager yelled at Mr. Fresco and asked him "What's the first rule about guns? Safety first !" And she hit him over the head in front of everyone there. Pistorius said nothing at all. Lerena said he never spoke of it again until after the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp. Then he was assaulted by the media who told him that it was understood that he himself had been shot by Pistorius. He said "nonsense" and called the police to tell them his story. When the weapon discharged, Lerena was "shocked." He had never been in a confined space when a gun went off. Pistorius immediately apologized to the patrons and calmed everyone down and asked if everyone was OK. Pistorius then asked Darren Frescp to take the gun and the blame. When the restaurant manager came over, that's what Mr. Fresco did. Pistorius said he didn't need the attention from this incident. The gun was passed back under the table from Fresco to Pistorius with the statement "I'm one up," meaning the weapon was chambered. Not completely clear when this happened but apparently it was after the accidental shot.
Lerena is shown photos and points out where everyone was seated at the time of the accidental discharge, The he discusses another dinner at the same restaurant with Pistorius and British runner Martyn Rooney in 2013. Said Pistorius is a sports icon and had helped him with his running and diet. He socialized with Pistorius occasionally. He met Pistorius through a sponsor.
The restaurant manager's husband took the stand and said he can't recall if Pistorius apologized and offered to pay for the damages. Mr. Jason Loupis was then shown a photo of the damage to the restaurant floor and he said it had not been there before the shot was fired. When he heard the shot he went over to the table and said "Seriously guys, what happened here?" He was told the pistol fell out of Mr. Fresco's pocket and discharged. There were about 200 customers in the restaurant at the time.
Apparently Mr. Loupis found out later that Pistorius was the owner of the gun and had asked his friend Fresco to say it was his because Pistorius "didn't want the attention" from the incident and that Mr. Fresco did that for him.