COLUMBUS, Ohio — It was an emotional day in the courtroom for both Adam Coy and Andre Hill’s family as Coy took the stand Monday to try to explain the events that led to him shooting Hill inside a friend’s garage nearly four years ago. 

On the stand, Coy described the moments before he shot and killed Andre Hill from the noise complaint he received to his verbal interaction with Hill. He goes into detail about how his initial interaction with Hill was normal, but he says as time went on he was led to believe that there was criminal activity at the house because the garage Hill was waiting in was open and dark. He then begins to tear up, describing the seconds before he shot and killed Andre Hill. 

“I thought I was going to die,” said defendant Adam Coy. 

“Why did you fire your weapon at that point,” said defense attorney, Mark Collins. 

“Because I saw an imminent threat, and I didn’t want to get shot right before Christmas,” said Coy.  

Coy says he immediately regretted the shooting after he noticed Hill wasn’t armed but instead had a set of keys in his pocket.

“I was horrified. It was the worst night of my life,” said Coy. 

Before Hill took the stand, the defense questioned a law enforcement expert who was also took the stand in the trial of a former Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy earlier this year. The prosecution then asked him about what they called “danger cues,” specifically when it comes to natural movements.

“We deal with subjects on the street all the time. Natural human movement and no threat is perceived, no danger cue is felt. But they have to be viewed in context and they have to be viewed in the totality of the circumstances,” said law enforcement expert, Kevin Davis. 

Tuesday morning, we are expecting to hear witness testimony from one more expert from the defense and then the prosecution will present its rebuttal.