State Attorney Bernie McCabe just announced that the prosecution has completed its case.

Steele’s four lawyers, Assistant Public Defenders Tom Hanlon, Bob Focht, Jason Bavol and Sharonda Oliver, met with Steele over the lunch break. It is expected that Hanlon will make an opening statement and the defense will begin presenting its case this afternoon.

It is still unknown whether Steele will testify.

Before the defense’s case began, Bavol argued a customary motion asking that Judge Beach acquit Steele of first-degree murder. He argued that there has been no evidence that Steele premeditated Harrison’s murder. Steele’s own statements were that he didn’t mean to hurt anyone and that he fired at the patrol car only to scare the driver.

McCabe argued that Steele has said he was upset about the death of his friend, Michael Reed, and admitted he went to the cookshed to test fire a rifle hours before Harrison was killed. Both indicate premeditation, he said.

“I think it goes without saying he didn’t intend to kill Lt. Harrison,” McCabe told Beach. “But he did intend to kill whoever was in that [patrol] car. He just didn’t know that Lt. Harrison was in the car.”

Beach denied the motion, saying the question of premeditation was a matter for the jury to decide.

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