Lyndo Jones to Take Stand in Trial Against Mesquite Officer Accused in Shooting

The trial against a former Mesquite police officer accused of unlawfully shooting and injuring a man continued Wednesday with the victim taking the stand.[[493753251,R]]

Lyndo Jones told jurors that he stopped in the parking lot where he was shot because he had gotten lost on his way home from work in Arlington. Jones said he was not sure how long he had been there when Officer Derick Wiley arrived but said he could not tell Wiley was a police officer, in part because of the blinding spotlight. 

Jones said he had been using marijuana and cocaine in his pickup before the shooting. Jones recalled for the jurors what it felt like to get shot.  

"It felt like someone was pushing me down, holding me down but I was trying to run, you know when someone run and push you, that's what it felt like," Jones said.

Jones said he ran from Officer Wiley because Wiley threatened to shoot him. 

Ex-officer Derick Wiley is charged in the Nov. 8 non-fatal shooting of Lyndo Jones. Wiley faces one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Wiley told police he thought Jones was burglarizing a truck when he confronted Jones and demanded him to get on the ground. Jones was the owner of the truck, and when Wiley spotted him, Jones was trying to get into the vehicle. 

On Tuesday, Wiley's body camera video was introduced as a key piece of evidence, showing the nearly two minute exchange escalating into violence and shots being fired.

The video also shows Jones complying with the officers orders, followed by a struggle, and then Jones being shot twice in the back.

During a police interview, Wiley said he thought he was in danger. Lead prosecutor Bryan Mitchell told jurors on Tuesday that Wiley was especially unreasonable.

Wiley was fired by the Mesquite Police Department after an internal investigation found he violated multiple department polices during the shooting. Wiley has appealed his termination.

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