Jogger's shooter thought gun held blanks, witness testifies

A defendant charged in the Duncan, Okla., shooting of an Australian man in 2013 testified Tuesday the shooter thought a gun held blanks instead of bullets. James Edwards, 15, the youngest of three teenagers charged in the Aug. 16, killing of Australian collegiate baseball player Christopher Lane, 22, testified against the others accused, Chancey Luna, 16, and Michael Jones, 18, in a preliminary hearing Tuesday. The three are charged with first-degree murder in the drive-by shooting of Lane. Edwards' testimony came after a deal was arranged with prosecutors that the murder charge against him be dismissed and replaced with punishment for being an after-the-fact accessory to murder, the Oklahoma news website newsok.com reported Tuesday. Edwards identified Jones as the driver of the car the three were in, and Luna as the shooter. He said he was rolling a marijuana joint in the front seat and was not aware a gun was in the car. He said Jones swerved toward a jogger, after which Luna fired the gun. Edwards added that after the incident, Luna said, "I thought there were supposed to be blanks in the gun," to which Jones responded, "Me too. Sorry." Lane was shot while jogging in Duncan, and his death received international attention. A gag order was put in place for everyone involved in the case, the (Duncan) Banner reported.