Roommate Testifies Slain Day Laborer Couldn't Use Gun

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The friend of a slain day laborer defended his friend Wednesday in the trial of a former Dekalb County deputy accused of killing the day laborer and the deputy's wife.

The accused ex-deputy, Derrick Yancey, claims Guatemalan day laborer Marcial Cax-Puluc shot his wife, Linda, during a robbery. He said he then killed Cax-Puluc in self-defense, but Cax-Puluc's childhood friend and roommate, Edvin Xujur, testified his friend didn't even know how to use a firearm.

Channel 2's Richard Elliot was outside the Dekalb County Courthouse in Decatur, where the testimony took place.

WATCH: Witnesses Testify Against Accused Ex-Deputy

Yancey said Cax-Puluc took his .357 revolver when he allowed the day laborer to come into his kitchen to eat lunch. Yancey told police when he and his wife later took Cax-Puluc into the basement to move some furniture, Cax-Puluc ordered Linda to hand over $2000 she was holding.

"When I looked back, I saw him pull a .357 from behind his back and said give me the money," Yancey said in the original police report.

Through an interpreter, Xujur explained that Cax-Puluc never handled a firearm and couldn't speak English. But he also said his friend owed people $6,000 for smuggling him into the country just a month before he was killed. The alleged debt gave Yancey's attorneys reason to claim that Cax-Puluc had a motive to commit a robbery.

In court, Detective Hilton Stafford said Yancey told police he pulled out a .40 pistol from his own pocket and fired back at Cax-Puluc in self-defense. He said the day laborer was seven to ten feet away when he started shooting, but a forensics expert testified Tuesday that Yancey couldn't have been more than 10 inches away when he shot Cax-Puluc.

Xujur also said Cax-Puluc's smugglers had not put pressure on him to repay his debt, and that he had a couple of years to pay them back.

Other witnesses made statements that didn't sound good for the defense.

One family friend said Linda Yancey feared her husband Derrick might kill her.

DeKalb County sheriff's deputy Danita Huff told the courtroom that Linda Yancey was afraid her husband might hurt her.

"She told me that he would shoot her, and he would kill her," said Huff, though he had not made a specific threat against his wife.

But the jury never heard any of Huff's comments.

Superior Court Judge Linda Hunter said it was too late in the trial to introduce what the defense called "heresay evidence." She decided to wait before deciding if the jury will hear Huff's testimony.

Meanwhile, the Yancey's eldest son testified about his parents' rocky relationship. Karron Yancey said his father often talked about seeking a divorce from his wife. Karron said his parents argued a lot, though he said he never saw the arguments get physical.

WSBTV