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Defense: He didn't know gun was loaded
By CARY DAVIS © St. Petersburg Times, published March 6, 2001 NEW PORT RICHEY -- Defense lawyers don't dispute that Steven Collazo shot and killed Edward Luck two years ago. They don't even dispute that Collazo had a motive: He was angry with Luck over a $250 debt. But they said Collazo didn't know the gun was loaded when he pointed it at Luck and the weapon fired. He had only planned to scare the 20-year-old Luck, defense attorney Rob Hoskins told a jury Monday. "Steven Collazo checked to make sure there was no bullet in the gun," Hoskins told jurors Monday during opening statements. Charged with first-degree murder, Collazo, 22, is on trial this week in a New Port Richey courtroom. He faces life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say Collazo planned the March 24, 1999, slaying every step of the way, from taking his father's .380-caliber handgun out of a locked case, to making sure nobody else was at the Shady Hills home when he confronted Luck, to picking up the spent shell casing after the shooting. "Edward Luck was executed," Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis told the jury. Collazo and Luck were good friends until a dispute over money reached critical mass. Luck was unemployed, so Collazo loaned him money for nights on the town, cigarettes and drugs, friends told detectives in pre-trial depositions. When Luck didn't repay the $250 debt, Collazo told friends he was planning something violent, Halkitis said. "He didn't want anybody to take advantage of him," Halkitis said. Collazo, in an interview with detectives, admitted shooting Luck in a Waxweed Avenue house as the two argued over money, Halkitis said. Luck said he wasn't going to repay the debt and bent over to pick up a cigarette out of an ashtray, Collazo told detectives. That's when Collazo pulled the blue steel pistol out of his pants, pointed it at Luck's head and fired, Halkitis said. Jurors are expected to hear the tape of Collazo's statement during the trial, which resumes this morning with testimony from prosecution witnesses. Hoskins, the defense attorney, said ballistics tests showed that the gun had a broken safety and a defective trigger. Those factors could explain how the gun might have fired accidentally, he said. But Halkitis suggested that Collazo's actions after the shooting were inconsistent with an accident. Instead of sticking around to help Luck, Collazo "walked back to his car like nothing happened," Halkitis said. - Cary Davis covers courts in west Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6236 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6236. His e-mail address is cbdavis@sptimes.com.
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