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May 8, 2008

MAYS TRIAL: Shootout survivor testifies at Mays case

By Angela Weatherford

Kevin Harris remembers lying on his back on May 17, 2007 — shot with a rifle so powerful, the bullet broke his leg.

He couldn’t move, and on Wednesday, during the third day of testimony in the Randall Wayne Mays capital murder trial, he recalled seeing the defendant — who had just killed two of his fellow officers — close in on him while holding a handgun.

Nearly a year to the day from the shootings, Kevin Harris now works in an office because his leg is no longer strong enough for him to serve as a deputy.

Kevin Harris testified that after being shot, he began firing his shotgun over his head and toward the house where Mays was taking cover.

“I kept shooting until he was out of my line of fire,” he said.

Before being shot, he said he was crouching behind a shed on the Mays property when he heard the first gunshot.

“Officer down,” yelled Deputy David Harris — Kevin’s brother — over the radio. Deputy Tony Ogburn, 61, had been killed. It is Ogburn’s death for which Mays is being tried.

Mays faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.

The state, led by Henderson County District Attorney Donna Bennett, rested its case Wednesday.

A few seconds after the first, fatal shot, another shot rang out. Again, Kevin Harris heard, “Officer down. He shot Paul.” Investigator Paul Habelt, 63, had been shot in the head and killed.

“I was thinking there were going to be other officers meet the same fate,” Kevin Harris testified.

He said he decided he would storm the house where Mays was barricaded and unload his rifle into the house. He ran to the end of a shed, and when he turned the corner to the house, he saw Mays standing in front of him with a .30-06 rifle.

As Kevin Harris dove back behind the shed, he was shot in the right leg. Unable to move, he was now exposed to Mays’ line of fire.

Mays then pulled out a pistol, and Harris said he was the target. He then rolled over on his back and laid the rifle across his chest, shooting nine to 10 rounds at Mays, who was later wounded.

Also Wednesday, David Harris testified he was standing a few feet from Ogburn when he was killed.

“He said, ‘Watch yourself,’ to me and then there was a gunshot,” David Harris said. “The shot struck Deputy Ogburn, and he fell to the ground.”

David Harris said he knelt beside Ogburn to see if he could render aid. He could do nothing, as Ogburn died immediately.

After communicating with an officer, David Harris said he started standing up and then saw Habelt fall to the ground.

“It appeared to me he was hit in the head area, but I didn’t hear a shot,” David Harris testified.

As he was checking Habelt to see if he could administer any aid, he heard his brother scream out, “I’ve been hit!”

“The strange thought I had was I could understand him, so he must not be hurt too bad,” he said.

A few minutes later, David Harris saw Mays through a window in the house.

“I aimed my gun at him,” he said while pantomiming holding a handgun with both hands, “but I did not shoot. I heard him say ‘I give up, I quit,’ so I started barking commands at him.”

After investigators apprehended Mays, David Harris checked on his brother. He then went back to the bodies of Ogburn and Habelt.

“I was just checking one more time,” he said.

Department of Public Safety forensic scientist Thomas White testified that neither Ogburn nor Habelt shot their weapons during the shootout.

White said that gunshot residue — which is usually found on the hands of individuals after they shoot a gun — was not found on either officer’s hands.

To further prove the point, forensic scientist John Bean — who performed examinations on all the firearms used in the shootout — said Ogburn’s and Habelt’s guns were both fully loaded.

The jury was shown the rifle Mays used with a scope on it during Bean’s testimony. He explained to the jury the use of a scope on a gun.

“The purpose of (a scope) is to magnify the target,” he said, “so that you are confident you will hit your target.”

Mays’ defense attorney, Bobby Mims of Tyler, is expected to begin putting on his case when the trial resumes at 9 a.m. Thursday in Judge Carter Tarrance’s 392nd District Court. It is unknown at this time whether Mims will put Mays on the witness stand.

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