Ex Fresno County deputy on trial for death of sergeant takes stand, denies killing
Former Fresno County Sheriff’s deputy Jared Mullis, who is accused in the shooting death of Sgt. Rod Lucas, testified during his trial Wednesday that he didn’t kill his former boss — but saw Lucas drop his gun more than once.
Mullis is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Lucas, who was a beloved member of the department. If found guilty, Mullis faces up to four years in prison.
Prosecutor Amy Freeman argues Mullis was negligent with his concealed weapon when showing it to Lucas on Oct. 31, 2016. The gun allegedly went off as it was being passed from one man to the other. A single bullet hit Lucas in the chest, killing him.
But Mullis’ attorney Roger Wilson said his client didn’t pull the trigger — saying it’s unclear how the gun went off. On Wednesday, Wilson raised the possibility Lucas may have fumbled the gun and then tried catching it, accidentally pulling the trigger. So far, no evidence has been presented to show that’s what happened.
Still, Mullis testified he saw Lucas drop his gun at least two times, catching it once before it hit the ground. He said in 2014 he saw Lucas removing his gun from his waistband, it got caught on something and tumbled out off his hand. Lucas quickly caught it around his thigh area.
“I told him he shouldn’t do that and he should get a holster,” Mullis testified.
Mullis also said Lucas had a habit of tucking his gun under his leg while he drove because he didn’t like the feel of it in his waistband.
“I heard a loud thud on the floor board and I asked him what that was,” Mullis said. “He said it was his gun.”
During his testimony, Mullis cried at times as he retold the story of what happened the night of the shooting. Mullis, Lucas, along with several others members of the special investigations unit, were in the office that Halloween day. Lucas and Mullis had just made a run to Costco to buy Halloween candy. As Mullis was busy writing reports, Lucas came over and Mullis remembers the sergeant making some sort of motion, causing his handgun to fall out of his waistband.
Mullis said he told Lucas he needed a better gun holster. Mullis testified he recently bought one and Lucas wanted to see it. He opened his desk drawer to get it.
“I handed it to Sgt. Lucas, he reached and grabbed it and took possession of it and I released,” Mullis testified. “I was turning away back towards my computer screen and I saw him out of my peripheral vision make some kind of jerking motion with his hands toward his waist area. As I was turning away I heard a pop. It was loud, like a gun shot and I flinched.”
Mullis said his first thought was he and Lucas were going to have to explain how the gun accidentally went off. As he turned, he saw Lucas holding his hand to his chest.
“I thought maybe he was messing around and then he removed his hand and I saw the hole in his shirt,” Mullis said. “He wasn’t messing around. He took a few steps back and I started yelling his name. He then kind of slowly sat down on the ground.”
Several deputies, including Mullis, tried in vain to keep Lucas from dying, but they couldn’t save him. What happened after that was a blur to Mullis, who remembers feeling depressed, confused and targeted.
He remembers hearing other deputies say to each other that he accidentally shot Lucas. He also was read his Miranda rights prior to being interviewed by homicide detectives. He was confused by it because he did not consider himself a suspect.
“I believe they were starting the process of prosecuting me,” Mullis testified.
His attorney tried to clear up the conflicting testimony from two deputies who had different versions of what happened that night. Both witnesses said they saw Mullis pull his gun out of his holster to show Lucas how well it worked.
Mullis said he did not recall doing that. He testified he took the holstered gun out of his desk with the muzzle pointing up and the handle towards Lucas.
Wilson also asked Mullis point blank if he shot Lucas. Mullis answered, “No.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 4:30 PM.
