Article Launched: 8/02/2006 12:00 AM
Suspected shooter leaves lawyer in tight spot
Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County SunAttorney Alan Spears has his hands full trying to formulate a defense for his client, suspected killer Louis Mitchell.
Prosecutors wrapped up their case against Mitchell on Tuesday after testimony from San Bernardino police officers that the defendant talked about the devil, threatened to take an officer's gun and challenged them to a fight while being taken into custody.
One of the officers shot Mitchell in the leg before his arrest, the day after authorities say Mitchell killed two people at a Colton auto dealership and shot two young men at an apartment complex in San Bernardino in August 2005.
But just when attorney Alan Spears would be expected to make a stand for his client, Mitchell has eliminated much of his defense. The defendant told his attorney not to present a mental-health defense or offer any evidence about drugs, even though some of his actions were consistent with the drug PCP, according to Spears.
"He just doesn't want it presented," Spears said Tuesday, after proceedings in San Bernardino Superior Court. Spears said he could not elaborate.
Mitchell also has refused to implicate anyone else in the double shootings he has been charged with at Colton Auto Sales and Mountain View Manor, in which three people were killed and three others wounded, despite court testimony about two other men seen near the locations.
Mitchell also will not take the stand in his own defense, Spears said. Those demands have left the attorney with little, if anything, to offer when he is expected to take his case to the jury next week.
"It's like having a sword fight with both hands tied behind your back," Spears said of his predicament.
Officers Joshua Cogswell and Thomas Adams were on patrol in San Bernardino on Aug. 9, 2005, when a call went out on their radios about a man with a gun on 19th Street.
Adams got there first. He saw Mitchell, shirtless, standing by a car and stopped his patrol car in the middle of the street, he testified. Mitchell started yelling and began walking toward Adams, who stood behind his driver's-side door.
The defendant was waving his arms and continued walking toward the officer, despite commands to stop and get down on the ground. While Adams said he couldn't see a gun, he also couldn't tell whether Mitchell was armed.
"He was very agitated, very animated," Adams said. "He showed no fear."
Mitchell told Adams that his gun was bigger and threatened to take the officer's gun. When Mitchell got to within five to six feet of the officer, Adams said he shot Mitchell in the leg, and he fell to the ground.
Cogswell arrived on the scene and assisted with putting handcuffs on Mitchell, who was fighting and still not complying with their commands, he testified.
"I physically had to move his arms," Cogswell said. The defendant was hostile, called the officers names and continued to resist, he said.
"I believe he said that if he was going to die, I was going to go with him," said Cogswell.
Jurors will take a trip to the locations of the shootings Thursday, and the defense will get the case Tuesday.
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