Didn’t Hear Clark Fire, Officer Says

Former Simi Valley Police Officer Michael Pierce told jurors in the Daniel Allan Tuffree murder trial Wednesday that he never saw or heard his partner fire his pistol before falling to the ground from fatal gunshot wounds.

On the stand for a second day, Pierce testified in cross-examination that he only heard four gunshots, all of which he said came from inside Tuffree’s house.

But Deputy Public Defender Howard Asher said Officer Michael Clark emptied his gun, firing 15 shots, before collapsing from his injuries.

“You heard four, but you didn’t hear the 15?” Asher asked.

Pierce said he had no recollection of hearing any shots fired by Clark. He added that he could not see his partner’s gun before Clark fell.

Pierce was one of three officers called to check Tuffree’s welfare Aug. 4, 1995. Tuffree had not answered phone calls and was reportedly taking Valium and alcohol.

Tuffree is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Clark. He is also charged with armed assault and attempted murder for allegedly shooting at Pierce, now a police officer in Tempe, Ariz.

Following Pierce on the witness stand Wednesday was John Pakenham, a neighbor of Tuffree, who testified that he heard a series of overlapping gunshots coming from Tuffree’s home on Aug. 4 from different locations.

In other testimony, a criminalist said Tuffree’s blood-alcohol level may have been as high as 0.14%--nearly twice the legal limit for driving a car--at the time of the shooting.

But Tuffree’s attorneys countered that the scenario presented by Norm Fort was hypothetical. They also said Tuffree tested negative for alcohol when examined at a hospital seven hours after the incident.