Defendant Repeats Kidnaping Claim

An accused killer from Port Hueneme testified Monday that he stopped only once, for gas, as the murderer of a young Simi Valley man forced him to drive the dead man’s truck around Los Angeles for more than 13 straight hours last year.

Timothy Chrestman, 20, on trial for murder in connection with the March 4 shotgun death of 24-year-old Andy Lee Anderson, said his assailant got out of Anderson’s truck to pump the gas, but that there was no one else around whom he could summon for help.

“Did you think at any time to run at the gas station?” Deputy Dist. Atty. Bob Calvert asked in cross-examination.

“I didn’t get a chance,” answered Chrestman.

Chrestman said he stayed with his kidnaper from the time Anderson was killed about noon that Friday to 1:30 a.m. the next day.

That is when he was able to escape from the assailant in Hollywood and ditch Anderson’s truck, Chrestman said. The testimony marked the third straight day on the witness stand that Chrestman has denied killing Anderson.

The prosecution contends that Chrestman killed Anderson and his dog at Middle Lion’s Campground to steal Anderson’s truck.

Chrestman has been in custody since two days after the slaying. When first arrested, he told sheriff’s deputies that two Latino gang members, one named Angel or Angelo, killed Anderson and one forced him to drive the truck to Hollywood. He later confessed to the shooting but called it accidental.

In the courtroom, he returned to his original story about the gang members. “Are you telling the truth to this jury?” defense attorney Steve Pell asked.

“Yes,” Chrestman said. “Because I have to.”