Jury To Begin Deliberations In Old City Shooting Trial
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Jurors involved in the attempted murder trial of a man accused of shooting another while clubbing in Old City last year are expected to begin deliberations today. That comes after the defendant took the stand right before yesterday's closing arguments.
Temple Law student Gerald Ung testified he and his friends were trying to walk away from a group of four men with whom they were "trash talking" at closing time, at Third and Market Streets.
Defense attorney Jack McMahon used several still photos from video that captured their images on the sidewalk outside the channel 29 studios, minus the sound of both groups cursing at each other.
The 29-year-old Ung testified he kept yelling "back off," but when 24-year-old Eddie Didonato moved in, Ung says he drew his gun, a licensed .380, and fired.
McMahon also played audio from the 911 call that Ung made, immediately after he squeezed off six rounds. On the tape, Ung pleads with the dispatcher to send an ambulance. Then, he screams to a wounded Didonato, 'why did you attack me?'
Prosecutor Jan McDermot told jurors Ung had opportunities to walk away, or use his cell phone before the shooting to call 911, not afterward. She said at no point was it a good idea for Ung to take a loaded weapon out drinking, adding it was "Old City, not the wild west."
Reported by Steve Tawa, KYW Newsradio
