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Jury hears contradicting statements from Lonnie Shaw, Peach County deputy on day 3 of trial

In May 2016, a Peach County deputy shot Lonnie Shaw, but he's charged with aggravated assault.

CORRECTION: In 2016, a grand jury indicted Lonnie Shaw on a charge of aggravated assault on a peace officer for allegedly pointing a gun at a Peach County deputy.

Then in 2018, Shaw was indicted again on the same charge, but this count says Shaw "brandished" the gun -- waved it or raised it – rather than pointed it.

In April, prosecutors dropped the original 2016 indictment.

Shaw is currently being tried on the 2018 charge -- not the original “pointing” charge.

This story was updated to reflect the fact that Shaw is accused of "brandishing" the weapon rather than pointing it.

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A Peach County jury heard contradicting statements Thursday from Lonnie Shaw and the Peach County deputy that shot him.

Brandon Williams accused Shaw of pointing a gun at him in May 2016, but his story has changed more than once.

During his testimony on Thursday, Deputy Williams said he arrived to Shaw's residence in his police cruiser and uniform, but he did not activate his vehicle's blue lights or sirens. He also told the jury that he never verbally identified himself as a deputy.

RELATED: He was shot by a Peach deputy, but he could go to prison

Williams said Shaw opened the front door in a "defensive" stance, with his right hand behind his back. After a few seconds of conversation, Williams says Shaw stepped backwards into the house and began to raise his gun.

Williams: "He was beginning to point it at me."

Defense: "I understand you're saying he was beginning to point it at you?"

Williams: "Yes, sir." 

Defense: "But at the time you shot him, was it pointing at you or pointing towards the ground?"

Williams: "If I had waited for him to point it at me, he would've shot me. The threat was... when I observed the weapon coming up, that was a threat."

But Shaw is charged with aggravated assault for brandishing a gun at an officer. When asked why he told the GBI hours after the shooting that Shaw had spun around in a circle to get a better angle on him and his partner, Williams said he was "still in shock" during that interview. 

The defense pointed out that you cannot see Shaw make a spin move in the surveillance video. 

"I was anticipating him doing the spin move, so it's not like I made something up," said Williams. 

But then the state presented evidence of Shaw contradicting himself, too. GBI Special Agent Tori Peacock testified that she went to visit Shaw in the hospital 3 weeks after he was shot to get a statement. 

"He said that he didn't feel like he had a side, because he could not remember anything. He could not remember what happened," said Peacock. 

Prosecutors then played clips of Shaw's recent interview with 13 WMAZ, where he did remember what happened the night of the shooting.

"He had done drew his gun and was reaching it in the house towards me. That's why I made a move, because it looked like someone was reaching," Shaw previously told 13 WMAZ.

Shaw's patrol partner from the night of the shooting, James Perry, also testified Thursday. He told the jury he was standing behind Williams when Shaw answered the door, and did not see Shaw raise or point a gun at Williams. 

The state insisted that no one but Deputy Williams could've seen Shaw raise or point his weapon or make a spin move. 

The prosecution argues that's because the camera that captured the surveillance video is at an angle, and you can't see what Shaw does when he takes a step back towards the house. 

RELATED: Prosecution says deputies were doing their job, defense says Lonnie Shaw was shot after big police miscommunication

The defense maintains that Shaw never raised a weapon, and clearly did not "spin around."

The state says they plan to rest their case Friday morning. Then, Shaw will have the opportunity to testify.

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