Brett Ours took the stand in his own defense during a trial on Thursday.
Ours is charged with attempted homicide after police say he beat Preston Coleman inside the Aliquippa VFW last January.
The incident was captured on surveillance video that was shown in court. The beating lasted 30 to 40 minutes.
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Ours said he feared for his own safety. That night, he told the jury, Coleman was calling a man with whom he had “bad blood,” from a motorcycle club that Ours was excommunicated from.
Despite never seeing one, Ours believed Coleman had a gun on him, so he pulled out his knife.
“I was frustrated. Anger built up, and I was scared about what might happen,” Ours told the jury.
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Before hitting Coleman, video showed Ours stabbing the bar multiple times and throwing the knife to the ground. His now ex-girlfriend took the knife from the ground before the beating started.
In the video, jurors could see Ours punch, kick and choke Coleman repeatedly.
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Ours was asked during testimony if he was sorry for what he did.
“Absolutely,” Ours said. “I fully take responsibility. I hurt a man. I never intended to kill Preston. I’m not proud of what I did.”
However, prosecutors believe Ours was indeed trying to kill Coleman.
“It was kind of surprising to hear that,” said Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible. “I can’t really speak to whether that’s some type of tactic or true emotions, but he certainly did take some responsibility for what happened that day, but reiterated that he never intended to kill him and that wasn’t what he was trying to do.”
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Bible believes his prosecutor has proved the case to the jury.
“He’s gotten in all the evidence that we needed to, and he’s making the right arguments, the right objections, and I think he’s doing a great job,” Bible said.
Bible expects the jury to start deliberations on Friday. If jurors aren’t close to a verdict by late afternoon, deliberations will resume on Tuesday because of the holiday on Monday.
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