Скачать или смотреть Oscar Pistorius asked friend to take 'blame' for restaurant gunshot

Testifying at the trial of Oscar Pistorius, professional boxer Kevin Lerena describes how the Paralympic sprinter asked a friend to take the blame for him accidentally firing a pistol in a Johannesburg restaurant, a month before he killed his girlfriend

The testimony by boxer Kevin Lerena related to firearms charges against Mr Pistorius, and raised questions about the character of a man who insists he accidentally shot dead Reeva Steenkamp in his home in the early hours of February 14 last year.

Mr Lerena said the restaurant shooting happened when he and Mr Pistorius and two other friends were in a restaurant in the Melrose Arch area of Johannesburg in January 2013.

One friend, Darren Fresco, passed his gun to Pistorius under the table and told him that there was a bullet in the chamber, Mr Lerena said.

Then a shot went off, puncturing the floor near Mr Lerena's foot, he said.

Mr Lerena said they paid the bill and left the restaurant and he never spoke about the incident.

Two days after Mr Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp, he said, he woke up to find over 100 missed calls on his telephone as media from around the world tried to contact him to ask about the gun incident.

Chief defence lawyer Barry Roux attempted to establish it was noisy in the restaurant, which the manager testified on Wednesday was full with over 200 customers, and that Mr Pistorius did not hear Mr Fresco say the gun was "one-up" or that there was a bullet in the chamber when he passed it.

But Mr Lerena's testimony that Mr Pistorius asked a friend to "take the rap" was not challenged.

Maria Loupis, wife of the restaurant manager Jason Loupis, said in her brief testimony that Fresco told her the gun fell out of his pants and she hit him over the head.

Source: APTN

Get the latest headlines http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Subscribe to The Telegraph http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c...

Like us on Facebook   / telegraph.co.uk  
Follow us on Twitter   / telegraph  
Follow us on Google+ https://plus.google.com/1028913550727...

Telegraph.co.uk and    / telegraphtv   are websites of The Daily Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.