Timothy Wayne Strickland, 38, of 299 Al Gray Rd. in Timberlake has been in the Person County jail without privilege of bond since the drug-related shooting death of Leverne Zimmerman, 29, of 225 Junious Bradsher Rd. in Hurdle Mills on Sept. 6, 2006. Zimmerman reportedly died of a gunshot wound in his chest. He was also shot in his leg.

Testimony in Strickland’s trial began Feb. 19 and will continue this morning. If convicted by the jury of nine men and three women, Strickland could face life in prison.

Strickland has admitted he was addicted to crack cocaine and that he purchased drugs from Zimmerman, whom Strickland said supplied him his drugs.

Strickland took the witness stand in court Tuesday when he testified that on the morning of the shooting he fired a .22-caliber rifle twice at Zimmerman. His defense team of Durham attorneys Bob Brown, Jerry Clayton and Freda Black has argued, however, that the shooting was in self-defense.

Tuesday afternoon, under questioning from Brown, Strickland said he had bought $20 worth of crack cocaine from Zimmerman earlier in the evening before the fatal shooting took place.

He said that he later returned to Zimmerman’s residence with two shotguns and a coin collection, which formerly belonged to his father. Strickland testified that he intended to trade the coin collection for crack cocaine and the guns for two cell phones that Strickland had supplied to Zimmerman at an earlier date.

The cell phones, according to District Attorney Joel Brewer, are key to the case. He referenced phone calls in two earlier cases that led to Strickland’s displaying violent behavior. Evidence regarding one of those incidents was disallowed by Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith Tuesday, however, Smith admitted evidence about another incident that took place in Kingston, Ga. in July of 2005.

Smith heard arguments from both sides pertaining to that evidence out of the presence of the jury.

According to Brewer, Strickland’s wife, Jennifer, called 911 on April 10, 2005 and said that her husband was packing up and leaving their Al Gray Road residence. She reportedly added that he was “sometimes violent,” and wanted an “officer to come out.”

In late July, 2005, Brewer said, a report was filed with police in Kingston, Ga. when Strickland allegedly “assaulted his wife and children.” That, Brewer said, came after Strickland had received a cell phone call.

When arguing for admission of the report from Georgia, Brewer said, “This time instead of beating his wife … he goes over and murders the victim in his own yard.”

Brown, arguing for the defense, told Judge Smith that the 911 call made by Strickland’s wife should not be allowed into evidence because it was “hearsay.”

To that, Brewer later said, “apparently hearsay and defamation [of character] are fair game for a dead man,” adding that the defense team had “assassinated” Zimmerman’s character over the course of the trial.

After questioning from Judge Smith, Brewer said he would present the Kingston, Ga. evidence primarily to show Strickland’s motive, intent and malice.

“He gets to a certain point of verbal abuse or altercation and he triggers into a reaction over the top,” Brewer said.

He further added that he wanted the evidence permitted to show Strickland’s “state of mind immediately prior to this incident, which also bears on premeditation…”

The judge allowed the evidence to be submitted pertaining to the Georgia incident because he said it offered a “proper and relevant purpose under the circumstances of this case.”

He added that there were “common evidence factors with this case,” noting that Strickland had had an argument with his wife prior to the Georgia incident and prior to the “alleged shooting” of Zimmerman. Both, Smith added, involved a cell phone call, the use of alcohol by Strickland and the fact that his wife was persistent in her demands.

When the jury re-entered the courtroom shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday, Judge Smith instructed them that evidence of other crimes “is not admissible to prove character,” however, he explained that it could be used to show the defendant’s state of mind as it related to motive, intent or malice.

Brewer quizzed Strickland during his cross-examination if his wife had attempted to cancel two cell phones that were allegedly in Zimmerman’s possession but being paid for by Strickland.

“She tried to cancel them, but [the cell phone company] wouldn’t because they were in my name,” Strickland testified.

Brewer later asked if were it true that Strickland’s wife was “[arguing] at you to get it right.” Reading from a statement from Strickland, Brewer asked Strickland if it were true that his wife had asked him if “he had [guts].”

“I’ve got some [guts],” Brewer said as he continued reading and quoting Strickland.

When referencing the Georgia domestic violence incident, Brewer asked Strickland if he grabbed his wife’s right hand and twisted it around her back and injured her to the point that she later had to put a steel plate in. He answered, “No sir.”

Brewer then asked if Strickland, under questioning from Georgia law enforcement authorities, said he “can get violent sometimes” when shown his wife’s injuries. Strickland replied, “No, she had no injuries to her hand.”

When asking Strickland about the pre-dawn shooting incident that killed Zimmerman, Brewer walked behind the jurors’ box and asked if that was the approximate distance Zimmerman was from Strickland when Strickland claimed he saw Zimmerman with a gun in his left hand and crack cocaine in the other. Strickland answered affirmatively to the question.

Strickland told Brown earlier in his testimony that he fired the rifle “because he pulled a pistol on me and said he was going to shoot me.”

He later said that when he was first interviewed by sheriff’s deputies on the morning following the shooting that he “had no idea anybody was even shot or dead…No one had told me anyone was shot or dead.”

Strickland added that when he fired the first shot he saw Zimmerman twist around “to try and get out of the way.” He testified that he fired another shot as he continued backing out of the driveway.

Zimmerman's fiancé found Zimmerman’s body at approximately 5:30 on the morning of the shooting.