The jury was dismissed as the court watched Andy Torres' police interrogation.
Andy Torres suddenly sat straight up when the officers interrogating him said he was being charged with murder.
"What the (expletive) did I do?" he shouted.
In the video, Torres told officers that one of his co-defendants was the gunman in the fatal robbery Jan. 5, 2012 in Phillipsburg, and that he was reluctantly roped into the scheme by his girlfriend and others.
Jurors won't see the recording until at least next week, but it was the first time that Torres' own description of that night's events were heard in public.
Torres, 26, of Allentown, is accused of fatally shooting Kismathdas Kasam, a 47-year-old attendant at the BP gas station on Phillipsburg's South Main Street.
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The jury was dismissed early on Wednesday, the third day of testimony in the trial, before the court reviewed Torres' recorded statements to police.
Torres, his attorney Michael Priarone, Warren County First Assistant Prosecutor Michael McDonald and Judge Robert Reed sat in and around the jury box, comparing written transcripts with the video recorded six days after the shooting. The transcripts were edited for clarity and to remove any potential implications of prior wrongdoing by Torres or his co-defendants.
The four people charged in connection with a fatal shooting Jan. 5, 2012, in Phillipsburg are, from left, Andy Torres, Zachary Flowers, David Beagell and Alexis Flowers. (Courtesy photos)Also charged in the crime are Zachary and Alexis Flowers, of Allentown, and David Beagell, of Blakeslee, Pa.
Alexis Flowers and Beagell are expected to testify against Torres after pleading guilty to lesser charges under offers made in 2012. Zachary Flowers this month said he would not testify and his plea was revoked.
Authorities say Torres and Zachary Flowers robbed Kasam after the other two distracted him, and that Torres blasted the attendant in the leg with a shotgun. Kasam died two days later.
In the video, Torres said that it was Zachary Flowers and Beagell's idea to rob the gas station and that they used his shotgun. He said he reluctantly went along and was in the car with Alexis Flowers while the other two initiated the robbery. He and Alexis drove away, Torres said, when Beagell pointed the shotgun at the attendant's head.
When they regrouped later, Zachary Flowers and Beagell had $400 to $500, he told police.
"Nobody told me anything," Torres said in the video. "Everybody got in the car and was all psyched up."
It wasn't until later, after seeing media reports about the robbery, that Torres said he realized the gun had been used.
"Dude, I never shot anybody in my whole freaking life," Torres said early in the video. "I know what you're talking about ... but I never pulled the trigger."
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Later in the interview, Torres, wiping his eyes, expressed frustration with the others in the group. The Flowers family didn't like him, and Alexis, his girlfriend, would often use him as a scapegoat, he said.
"I try to help her better herself all the time," Torres said. "I try to tell her to get a job, to go to school ... I try to do everything all the time and this is what (expletive) happens."
Torres' statements to police were a source of contention before the trial began. Priarone in 2014 argued that they should be tossed and that Torres' arrest was on a "cooked-up" warrant.
Earlier Wednesday, jurors heard testimony from Phillipsburg police Lt. Michael Swick and Detective Douglas Baylor, who described the investigation that led them to Torres and the others.
McDonald said he may recall them to testify about Torres' statement, and Priarone said he would cross-examine them then.
The trial will resume Monday. With more than 30 witnesses expected to be called, it is anticipated to last about a month.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.