A man accused of shooting dead a policeman on Boxing Day went into the witness box today to claim that the real culprit was not him but a friend who had skipped the country.
David Bieber claimed that the mystery killer, known as Mr X, painted liquid latex on his fingers so that he left no fingerprints.
He denies pulling a handgun while sitting in the back of police car, shooting Pc Ian Broadhurst in the chest and also firing at Pc Neil Roper and Pc James Banks.
A tape of the murder, including the voice of the killer and of the victim pleading for his life, were captured on the patrol car's digital recording equipment.
Mr Bieber was arrested at a Gateshead hotel by armed officers on New Year's Eve, and a gun and ammunition were found in the room.
Today he described a mysterious but violent friend, whom he refused to name, who he said had committed the crime while he was a few yards away on the phone.
"If you ask me his features I would say he is half-Italian. Dark brown eyes. Coming from Florida, he had a dark suntan. I would say late 30s. He worked out a lot. Medium to large build, about 5ft 11ins. Dark hair, dark features," Mr Bieber told Newcastle Crown Court, where he denies murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Under cross-examination from prosecutor Robert Smith QC, he refused to name his friend. "I would fear for possible reprisals against my family. I do not know what he would do."
Mr Smith said: "What I am suggesting is that the story is patently untrue and you made it up and you are struggling to meet the evidence against you."
Mr Bieber replied: "You are entitled to your opinion. I am just telling you the truth to the extent of not revealing his identity. I was not there and didn't see it so it does not matter how much you twist my words."
He told the court that on Boxing Day the mystery man had driven a BMW car to Roundhay Road in Leeds. Mr Bieber said that he himself had walked there, as it was close to where he lived. His friend was agitated and planning to settle an old score. He had obtained a gun.
Mr Bieber claimed that he told his friend that he could not settle scores while driving the BMW, because he had been seen driving the car and therefore did not want to be linked to any incidents that his friend got involved with.
The defendant told the jury he had left the car to make some phone calls and could see the police patrol car pull up. He said: "What concerned me now was one, the car was stolen, and two, my friend had a firearm on him."
The jury was shown an extract from the video from Pc Broadhurst and Pc Roper's patrol car, which showed the driver of a black BMW 316 car flicking through the pages of a Racing Post.
Bieber claimed that this was not himself but Mr X. He admitted that Mr X was not wearing gloves but then claimed the man was wearing spray-on "liquid latex" on his hands.
He said: "I should make it clear that on that day from time to time because he was a bit dodgy and involved in criminal activity, he would wear something on his hands. It is a liquid latex that you spray on the hands to cover up your fingerprints."
He told the jury that he was 70 yards away from the shooting when it began. He said that he realised immediately that the sound was not fireworks but his friend firing the handgun.
He ran off along Dib Lane before slowing down to avoid suspicion. Moments later, his friend pulled up alongside him in a green Rover and he got in. The handgun, which was still cocked, was on the floor of the car, he told the jury, so he picked it up and made it safe.
Mr Beckman asked him if the friend had told him what happened. Mr Bieber replied: "I said: 'Please don't tell me you shot anyone, what happened?'
"He was freaking out, he screamed 'I'm on video, they have got me on video, they have got a photo of me, I'm screwed'.
"Then he told me he thought he had shot two police officers and one of them was possibly dead. At that time he didn't go into any more detail, he was just really volatile as you can imagine."
He said his friend hailed a taxi while he went back to his flat and picked up some personal items. He said his friend gave him £7,500 in cash and asked him to dump the gun. Mr Bieber told the jury he spent up to two hours thinking in his flat. He told them: "I was just a bit upset that he (the friend) disrupted my peaceful, tranquil, quiet life."
Realising he might be linked to the crime scene by his fingerprints in the BMW, he decided to leave. He told the jury: "Rather than answer any questions about what he had done I thought I would lay low for a bit and find out exactly what he had done."
He said he went from Leeds to Bradford, where he stayed in a bed and breakfast, and also visited a storage unit where he kept ammunition. His friend put him "under pressure" and he felt "obligated" to help him.
By December 29 the defendant saw his picture on television and he admitted today he was concerned that his photo was being circulated rather than footage of his friend from the police car video. He told the jury: "By the 29th I became quite concerned and I asked if he (the friend) was sure he was on video.
"If he was not, I told him it would be best for him to leave the country while he has the chance."
Mr Bieber revealed he intentionally used a credit card while he was still in Yorkshire to alert police that he was still in the area. He bought a ticket from London to Paris but he had no intention of using it.
Later, Mr Bieber said that while being driven away from Dib Lane in the stolen Rover, he reloaded the pistol with ammunition his friend gave him.
He told the jury: "Just chaos. He asked me to do it. In the state he was in I didn't want to say no to him so I went ahead and put the ammunition in there."
The court also heard that Mr Bieber had been trained to use a handgun while serving briefly in the US Marines, and had even obtained a sharpshooter certificate with the M16 rifle.
Mr Bieber claimed that his defence team had made efforts to contact the mystery man and were hoping to obtain from him a statement and a recording of his voice, which would match 100 per cent the recording of the man sat in the back of the police car.
Mr Smith asked why he had helped his friend before and after the shooting. He replied: "I chose to play a part in it because out of loyalty to him and what he had done for me in the past. I couldn’t really say no when he asks me for little favours here and there."
Mr Smith asked the defendant if he was "troubled" by the death of the police officer. Mr Bieber replied: "I was very troubled," but added that he had no power to bring him back.
The reason that he only made Mr X's existence public on October 28, ten months after the shooting, because it was only then he had "obtained competent solicitors", he said.
Mr Smith claimed the defendant put his story together after he realised his fingerprints were left inside the gun magazine, after his DNA was left on the trigger, his fingerprints were in the storage unit and also left in the hijacked green Rover.
The case continues.
