BEAUMONT — In hopes of gaining leniency and to “tell the truth,” James Levron took the stand against his friend David Broadus, who is on trial for the chilling, daylight murder of Jose Leal.

Levron, also charged in the case, will be tried separately.

Levron, 27, said he and Broadus, 29, had been friends for about 10 years and were working together putting up fences when Broadus killed Leal, 27, on a busy Port Arthur highway.

Around 11 a.m. on Jan. 25, 2018, the two men went to Lowe’s on Memorial Boulevard to get keys to Levron’s girlfriend’s vehicle because the transmission in Levron’s own truck was slipping. A video shown in Judge John Stevens’ courtroom Wednesday showed Levron enter Lowe’s and later drive a 2017 Jeep across the parking lot. That’s when, Levron said, he and his friend saw a vehicle that looked like the one involved in stealing his and Broadus’ tools the week before in Groves.

“It looks like you were in a hurry,” prosecutor Rachel Grove said to Levron, who responded that they were. “What were you going to do?”

“Confront the guy,” Levron said.

Levron and Broadus drove over to where Leal was parked and the men exchanged words before Leal sped off. A chase began with Levron honking his horn and flashing his lights in an attempt to get Leal to stop.

Then, Levron said, Broadus pulled out a gun and fired at the car Leal was driving. Levron — who said he didn’t know Broadus had a gun — was going about 80 mph down Memorial Boulevard when the second and fatal shot was fired.

Dr. John Ralston, a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Leal, told the jury of eight men and four women that Leal died from a gunshot wound to the arm. The bullet entered in the upper back portion of the left arm, went into a space between the ribs, missing the victim’s heart, and settled in the right lung.

Earlier testimony and video showed the victim’s vehicle continuing at a high rate of speed and crashing into other vehicles at Memorial Boulevard and 39^th Street. Leal had bruises to his eyelids and a gash/laceration to the lower portion of his right leg from the crash. Toxicology reports showed Leal had PCP in his system.

As the crash was occurring, Levron drove past and dropped Broadus off at a car repair shop in the 2400 block of Memorial Boulevard.

“I started to get the tools out of the truck (at the car shop) and he said what do you think? You think I got the guy? You think he’s dead?” Levron said.

Levron testified he saw Broadus wearing a white T-shirt go to the back of the repair shop. Earlier testimony showed that someone had tampered with the gun, which was later found with a black T-shirt buried behind the repair shop.

Brandy Henley, a forensic scientist specializing in firearms, gave information about guns and ballistics testing. He said the gun used was a Cobra .380.

The prosecution, which also included attorney Michael Morgan, called upon Amanda Balasko, forensic scientist who specializes in DNA at the crime lab in Houston. She prepared a number of samples including:

• Swab of the frame of the handgun
• Swab of the magazine
• Swab of the slide of the handgun
• Cigarette butts taken from near where the gun was located
• T-shirt from the crime scene (where the gun was located)

Kerry Todd, a forensic biologist, tested the samples but only one had DNA on it — the T-shirt. The shirt had a mixture of three individuals’ DNA, one of which highly matched Broadus. The test rendered an inconclusive match with Levron and Leal was excluded as a contributor to the DNA profile.

Under cross-examination, defense attorney Marvin Lewis Jr. asked Todd if there is a way to tell when the DNA was placed on an item; she answered no.

Grove brought forward surveillance video and audio of a convenience store at 25^th Street and Main Avenue in Groves that was taken about a week before the fatal shooting. Levron identified Broadus’ voice saying, “I know that guy,” indicating he saw the man who reportedly stole their tools from the truck; Jose Leal.

The homicide was the first of four in two days in Port Arthur, which affected the community’s sense of calm. It was the second of five homicides in the city in January 2018, equaling the total number of homicides in Port Arthur in all of 2017.

The prosecution rested Wednesday. Closing arguments were expected to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday.