A prosecution witness says he lied "hundreds of times" to police during questioning at the trial of a teen accused of killing an Oceanside police officer.
The disclosure came during the fourth week of testimony in the case. Penifoti Taeotui, 18, is on trial for murdering officer Dan Bessant in December 2006.
The unidentified witness testified Monday that Taeotui admitted to killing Bessant. But after prosecutors ended their questions, defense attorney Will Rumble repeatedly asked the witness why answers to the same questions in various statements he gave to police were so different.
"Is it fair to say that you told hundreds of lies?" Rumble asked.
"Yes" said the witness.
Rumble also pointed to the agreement between the prosecutors and the witness about immunity for past crimes. The attorney pointed out that even though the agreement is based upon the witness telling the truth, the witness still believed his immunity would be honored.
Other witnesses have testified that Taeotui and his alleged accomplice, Mekhi Gaono, 19, were drunk on the night of Dec. 20, and fired two separate weapons at the officer. Gaono is accused of firing the shot that killed Bessant and will be tried later this year.
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If convicted, the suspects will face life in prison and not the death penalty because they were minors when the shooting happened.
