JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Powerful and emotional testimony on Tuesday marked the start of the trial of a man accused of killing his co-worker and injuring another at a Baldwin truck stop in 2019 and a subsequent violent confrontation on Interstate 10.
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Prosecutors told jurors that Leroy Edwards ambushed two co-workers at the Pilot truck stop, fatally shooting Todd Phillips and wounding Joseph Parcell, then stole the company’s 18-wheeler and led officers on a chase onto I-10. Authorities say officers exchanged gunfire with Edwards and took him into custody.
Parcell testified that he did not hear the initial shots above the morning noise. When he stepped out of a vehicle, he said, he saw Phillips on the ground and Edwards pointing a gun at him. Parcell said the gunfire “kind of knocked the wind out of me” and that Edwards tried to shoot him again as he stumbled around a pickup truck.
Jurors also heard Parcell’s 911 call, in which he can be heard saying a co-worker had been shot and that the suspect was “walking around me, he’s got a gun in his hand,” according to court testimony.
Lt. Winfrey, the first officer to arrive, testified that he rushed to the truck stop and later to I-10, where he and other officers took cover and returned fire as bullets came from Edwards’ truck.
“He’s already shot two people at the truck stop, and now he’s shot at an officer,” Winfrey told jurors, adding that officers believed deadly force was necessary to prevent further killings.
Prosecutors said the video evidence will show premeditation.
“The overwhelming and uncontroverted evidence proves that these crimes were committed and that the defendant is the person who committed these crimes,” a prosecutor said.
The defense urged jurors not to rush to judgment, saying the indictment alone does not prove guilt and asking them to wait for all the evidence before reaching a verdict.