"I wanted to fire more up in the air, more towards my shoulder, and I didn't get the chance to because like I said, it was slippery, and I didn't have a good grip on the gun," Zeigler testified. "I felt extremely remorseful. And I was -- I was just shocked."
But Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said the evidence on tape doesn't support the idea that Zeigler tripped and fired accidentally.
A police detective testified that Zeigler gave a different explanation when he was questioned after the incident. "He looked at me and he said, 'I'm tired of being a victim,'" Det. Shawn Pace said in court. Ziegler said his house had been broken into five times.
The teen's mother says she believes race was a factor. "Watching the tape, you can hear the wife say, 'Why did these people choose my house?' Who are 'these people'? And that's what — that set me off," she said.
The man said if he could go back and do it differently, he would. "I would have given him a ride to school," Zeigler said on Friday.
Zeigler's attorney, Rob Morad says his client was over-charged: "Obviously he's been sorry ever since this obviously happened. He's been extremely remorseful. He wishes he could take it back but obviously you can't take it back."
Zigler's bond was revoked and his sentencing is scheduled for November.