BARNWELL, S.C. - The first person to greet police officers at the Sonic Drive-In on Oct. 18, 2000, was a hobbled Shaun Edwards, who was bloody from gunshots to his face and leg.

Mr. Edwards narrowly survived that night and was one of the last people to see Joshua Brewer, 17, and A.J. Still Jr., 18, before they were shot to death inside the restaurant. Although Mr. Edwards did not testify, what he told authorities minutes after the crime was part of the evidence introduced in court Sunday, the opening day of Alfred Tyrone Walker's death-penalty trial.

Mr. Walker, who was 18 at the time, is accused of killing Mr. Brewer and Mr. Still, shooting Mr. Edwards, and burglarizing the restaurant, among other crimes.

He was an employee at the Sonic, 2nd Circuit Solicitor Barbara Morgan told jurors, and was a friend of Mr. Edwards and Mr. Brewer. He showed up at the restaurant that night with 15-year-old Wallace Priester, angry because he had missed a meeting and hadn't gotten his paycheck, Ms. Morgan said.

It was nothing out of the ordinary to see him at the restaurant, and Mr. Edwards wasn't alarmed when Mr. Walker initially threatened him, she told jurors.

"It was his friend," Ms. Morgan said. "Shaun says, 'Come on, stop that.' "

But she said Mr. Walker then shot Mr. Edwards, who played dead as Mr. Walker turned the gun on Mr. Brewer, an assistant manager, and Mr. Still, who was sitting at a table outside.

Mr. Edwards told police that he lay still in the back of the restaurant and waited until Mr. Walker left with Mr. Priester, who has been convicted of the murders and is serving back-to-back life sentences. Then, he said, he called authorities.

Jurors were shown videotape of Mr. Edwards pacing in front of a police cruiser at the scene. He was heard on the tape saying, "All I know is somebody came in and I got shot, and I got shot again."

Defense attorneys noted that Mr. Edwards did not say who shot him. They also referred to a female dispatcher who could be heard on the tape.

"He didn't know who done it or anything," she said.

Mr. Edwards appeared in the courtroom briefly before defense attorneys asked Circuit Court Judge Perry Buckner to have him removed to prevent him from hearing testimony from other witnesses.

Thomas Frye, a truck driver from North Carolina who was in the Wal-Mart parking lot behind the restaurant on the night of the crime, testified that he saw two black men run from the Sonic toward the nearby Litchfield apartment complex.

Sgt. Robby Sanders, of the Barnwell County Sheriff's Office, was one of the first to reach the scene. He told jurors that he had eaten at the restaurant and knew Mr. Brewer and Mr. Still, whom he found dead inside.

After speaking with Mr. Frye that night, he traveled toward Litchfield Street, planning to set up a roadblock. The first car that drove toward him, he said, was carrying four black men.

Mr. Walker and Mr. Priester were in the car. They were with Lee Worth and Shelton O'Berry, who were never charged in the crimes.

The men were told to get out of the car, Sgt. Sanders said, and Mr. O'Berry ran. It was later learned that his driver's license had expired and that the car he was driving didn't belong to him.

"We knew something wasn't going right at that time," Sgt. Sanders said.

But it was only after Mr. O'Berry ran, Sgt. Sanders added, that he noticed blood on Mr. Priester's pants and shoes. He searched Mr. Priester and found Mr. Brewer's wallet, a pocketknife and a pornographic picture. Authorities later found gunpowder on his clothing.

Mr. Walker, meanwhile, was standing next to Chief Deputy Thomas Gantt, who testified that Mr. Walker appeared nervous and tried to walk away at one point.

The defendant wouldn't keep his hands out of his pockets and made repeated sweeping motions toward his back, Chief Deputy Gantt testified. Authorities later found an unused bullet near where Mr. Walker was detained.

Defense attorneys, however, pointed out that gunpowder was never found on Mr. Walker's clothing.

"The evidence will show that (prosecutors) are simply trying to take a shot in the dark, hoping to come up with something," defense attorney Glenn Walters said during his opening statements.

Reach Josh Gelinas at (803) 648-1395, ext. 113, or josh.gelinas@augustachronicle.com.