The man’s eyes locked on Vernice Griffin as he stroked his gun like it was a pet.
“Do you want to die?” he appeared to say.
The sight of the man – dancing in front of her car, making hand gestures like a rapper, and lovingly touching his gun – was bizarre, Griffin recalled.
Then the moment turned terrifying when the man took aim at Griffin.
“I told him ‘No, don’t do this.’ When his finger hit the trigger, I ducked. I was going, ‘No, no!”‘ Griffin said Tuesday in Denver District Court.
Sitting 20 feet away from Griffin, 55, was Brian Allen Washington, 27.
Prosecutors claim Washington tried to kill Griffin on Sept. 18 as she sat in her car at the intersection of East 33rd Avenue and Pontiac Street.
Two days later, authorities say, Washington shot and killed Aurora Detective Mike Thomas as Thomas sat in his car at the intersection of Montview Boulevard and Peoria Street.
The bullet fired at Griffin singed her hair and left a gaping hole in the back of her blue jacket between her neck and shoulder, she said. The warmth of the bullet convinced her that she had been shot, but the bullet had missed.
After the the man fired, Griffin remained motionless, playing dead, she said. Moments later, she saw the man walk to the driver’s side window. He pointed the gun at her again, but she was able to speed away.
Griffin was in court giving video testimony because she was diagnosed in January with cancer and given less than four months to live. The court wanted her testimony preserved for Washington’s trial, scheduled for mid-January.
Washington’s attorney, Janene McCabe, asked Griffin about her illness, her medications and if they could have affected her perceptions on the day of the shooting. Griffin said neither her illness nor her medication affected her.
Washington is charged in Denver with attempted first-degree murder, menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm and possession of a weapon by a previous offender. McCabe didn’t want to enter a plea, but District Judge Larry Naves entered “not guilty” pleas over her objections.
On Tuesday, Griffin said Washington looked “very similar” to the man who shot at her, and his “profile looked a lot like him.”
Prosecutors say that another witness identified Washington as the shooter and directed police to his house.
Washington also is charged with first-degree murder of a police officer, first-degree assault and menacing in the killing of Thomas. Washington’s preliminary hearing in that case is scheduled for Dec. 7. in Adams County.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
