Oscar Pistorius asked a friend to take the blame for him after he accidentally fired a gun at the floor of a restaurant, his murder trial heard today.
Kevin Lerena told the North Gauteng High Court how he had joined Pistorius at a Johannesburg restaurant, along with British Olympic sprinter
Martyn Rooney, and another friend Darren Fresco, an associate of the Daytona Group.
Mr Lerena told the court that Fresco’s gun fired into the floor as it was passed under the table to Pistorius, having told the sprinter he was “one up” – that there was a bullet loaded into the chamber.
“Then a shot went off in the restaurant and there was complete silence,” Mr Lerena said. “I looked down, I was in shock. Exactly where my foot was, there was a hole in the floor.
“I wasn’t injured, but there was blood on my toe. I’ve never been in a confined area where a gunshot has gone off. There could have been a fatality.
“Oscar said to Darren, ‘Just say it was you. I don’t want any tension around me. Just say it was you. Please take the blame for me. There’s too much media hype around me.’ And Darren took the blame for him.”
Mr Lerena said the restaurant owners came over, Mr Darren took the blame, they then paid the bill and left. “I was in complete shock. I never spoke about it again.”
