Road rage witness takes stand

It would take hours ending a high-speed police chase before Sedillo said he learned that one of the bullets fired killed 22-year-old Raymond Gardner.

Sedillo took the stand at the end of the day yesterday to finger Navarro and Sedeno as Gardner's shooters. Both defendants claim innocence and Gardner's three friends saw little more than an extended hand with a gun.

Gardner and three friends were returning home from San Jose, traveling in two vehicles. As they drove onto Interstate 380, the four victims encountered the Chevy Tahoe carrying the suspects and Sedillo. Thirteen bullets were fired from the SUV, including four that struck the Infiniti and Acura driven by Gardner's friends.

One of the bullets shot through the back window of the Infiniti, through the passenger seat headrest and into the back of Gardner's skull. He was pronounced dead later that day and his organs donated.

While Gardner stayed alive on a ventilator for hours, police interrogated the defendants and Sedillo. All three were arrested but Sedillo was cleared after offering officers his version of events before and after their world collided with Gardner.

Sedillo drove himself to a surprise birthday party for a fellow gangmember in San Francisco but took Sedeno up on an offer for a ride home after drinking too much vodka and cranberry juice. Sedeno told him they were going "for a ride" and headed to Interstate 280 instead of toward his Garrison Street home. Sedeno was driving crazily across the lanes as rap music blared and Sedillo said he knew he wouldn't be getting home anytime soon.

As the car went onto Interstate 380, Sedillo said he heard shots fired from the back where Navarro sat while Sedeno fired out the passenger window. They took him to Navarro's Pacifica apartment where he reloaded his gun from a gallon-size plastic bag of bullets.

The trio then headed to Denny's to eat but left after noticing a Daly City police car outside. A high-speed chase quickly ensued, with Navarro tossing bullets, a magazine and pieces of his gun out the window, Sedillo said.

Sedillo said he asked them to let him out but finally resigned himself to being in deep trouble.

"I knew it was already too late ... I was already in the car and running from the police," he said.

Sedillo is the first witness jurors heard offering an eyewitness account of what reportedly happened inside the SUV carrying all three.

Although Sedillo is no stranger to the criminal justice system prosecutor Sean Gallagher wants jurors to believe he is not culpable in Gardner's death. Sedillo's believability is crucial for the prosecution because the defense has continually shielded blame from its clients by raising suspicions about Sedillo. Sedeno's attorney Mara Feiger, in particular, refers to him as "the paid witness" because of the financial arrangements inherent in his participation in the witness protection program. The defense claims Sedillo lied about his role in the shooting because of a lengthy rap sheet and his current parole status.

However, a California Highway Patrol officer who interviewed Sedillo testified Monday that he asked for no special arrangements or immunity in return for cooperating.

He only wanted his girlfriend and newborn daughter be protected. Shortly after his police interviews, authorities relocated Sedillo out of the Bay Area and he has not returned.

Yesterday, he admitted being "a little nervous" about testifying before a courtroom filled with the defendants' family and gang members.

Each defendant faces roughly 90 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder, causing great bodily injury, evading police and using a firearm. Sedeno, who was on parole at the time of his arrest, is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Sedeno and Navarro remain in custody on no-bail status. Sedillo continues testifying for the prosecution this morning.