HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — On the third day of the trial of Kayvon Ward, the defense took the floor – and so did someone that was considered debatable to testify.
That person was Kayvon Ward himself, the man on trial for Capital Murder in connection to the death of Hot Springs Police Officer Brent Scrimshire on March 10, 2020.
Before Ward took the stand, medical professionals testified about wounds Ward had sustained when he was shot.
Dr. Frank Peretti, formerly of the Arkansas State Crime Lab, but now running his own private practice, testified that wounds Ward sustained are inconsistent with the testimony heard from Officer Anthony Larkin.
Larkin's testimony was that Ward stopped and fully faced both Officer Scrimshire and Officer Larkin before he fired. Dr. Peretti said the wound angle Ward had was more consistent with someone who was on the ground or hunched over facing away.
Ward took the stand after that and admitted that he fired the gun that killed Officer Scrimshire. He also added how he feared for his life but maintained that he did not fire first.
He also said he doesn't remember much of that night – but just that he hopped the fence, and then was on the ground. Ward testified that when officers tried to pull him out of the red Nissan Xterra SUV he was driving, he "felt like he could not be arrested."
At the time of the traffic stop, Ward had no valid driver's license, proof of valid registration, or proof of insurance.
Ward told the court that he felt like death was the most likely outcome if he didn't pull a gun, and hoped firing the gun would scare officers into stopping.
He said multiple times that "murder was never on my mind."
Prosecuting Attorney Kara Petro intensely questioned Ward, and inquired about whether he thought it was wrong to put his child in the car with no car seat and if he thought about shooting officers.
Ward said he wasn't thinking about that at that time.
When asked if he was remorseful, Ward said, "I would never wish this on nobody. I've been on that end."
Next was Dr. Benjamin Silber, a Forensic Psychologist who gave Ward a "provisional diagnosis of schizophrenia." Dr. Silber said he met with Ward 10 days prior, on the 15th of July, just three days before jury selection took place.
The prosecution intently asked Dr. Silber if Ward was still showing signs of schizophrenia, as the doctor had testified that Ward told him that he had not heard voices or hallucinations since before he went to jail.
Dr. Silber said there are cases of people who show signs of schizophrenia just once in their life and then never show signs again. He said that could have been the case here.
Next came the people who were close with Ward.
Zachary Barnett testified that he had been close friends with Ward for years before Ward came back from college and then became a recluse. He said they stopped speaking after that.
Ward shot Barnett in the ribs inside of a Hot Springs home where Barnett was picking up his child on August 18, 2019. Barnett testified that Ward had a blank expression at the time, and was "not the person I knew."
Similar sentiments were expressed by former coaches and family members.
His former football coach, Tony Hines, said "he didn't look like the young man I took home for five years," as he described Ward's condition when he ran into him a couple of days before the shooting.
His mother, Jennifer Smith, rounded out the testimony from the defense.
She said a woman close enough to Ward to be his grandmother told her in 2019 that she should seek help for Ward, as he was acting "strange" – similar to her own child.
When asked why she did not seek help, Smith said, "I didn't want to believe there was something wrong with my child."
With both the state and defense presenting their cases, the court is back Thursday morning for the remainder of the trial.