Florence sheriff testifies in Lexington County doctor shooting case. Here’s why
The Florence County sheriff was the first person to take the stand Tuesday in the trial of a Lexington County doctor accused of shooting a medical equipment salesman.
Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye testified during the trial of Adam Lazzarini, a former Lexington Medical Center surgeon who is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting of William Player Holland. The two were looking at guns in Lazzarini’s Cayce home when Holland was shot. Lazzarini’s attorneys have argued the shooting was an accident.
Joye was a high school football coach in Florence County, he told the court. He was Holland’s coach in the mid 2000s.
At the time, Joye was also a highway patrol trooper and avid bird hunter. After Holland graduated from high school, they developed a personal friendship, and the two would go bird hunting together. After bird hunting, they would shoot Joye’s handguns.
Prosecutor Luke Pincelli of the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office questioned Joye about Holland’s handling of handguns.
Holland grew up around guns, and he never handled them “in a dangerous manner,” Joye said.
He thought Holland was going to become a police officer, Joye told the court.
In cross examination, Lazzarini’s attorney Jack Swerling questioned Joye on the safe handling of guns, attempting to paint a picture for the jury that on the night of shooting Holland did not handle a weapon safely.
Along with Swerling, attorneys Greg Harris and Alissa Wilson are defending Lazzarini. Shawn Graham of the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office is also prosecuting. Judge Debra McCaslin is presiding.
Lazzarini’s friend testifies
Another medical equipment salesman, Ken Newton, who developed a friendship with Lazzarini, took the stand after Joye.
The two had children who went to school together. Newton said he and Lazzarini were close enough to hang out at each others’ houses and went to a gun range for target practice once.
At the gun range, Lazzarini was “way more technical than any of my experienced hunting buddies,” Newton said.
“He was the most experienced” of the three who went to the range, which included another doctor. Lazzarini helped the other doctor with his shooting stance, Newton testified.
Pincelli elicited the information from Newton to show that Lazzarini was experienced with handguns and safely handling them.
The prosecution has tried to show that Lazzarini was criminally negligent on the night of the shooting. By showing he was experienced at handling guns, the prosecution is hoping the jury will find that on the night of the shooting Lazzarini was unsafe to the point of being criminal.
Lazzarini’s defense also used testimony about his experience with guns to show the jury that he was a responsible gun owner and to sow reasonable doubt about the shooting being involuntary manslaughter. The defense wants the jury to believe that the shooting was a tragic accident rather than a criminal act. They hope that the jury will find that Holland had some culpability in the shooting.
Investigators interviewed Newton three times since in 2018, 2020 and 2021 about what Lazzarini said about the shooting. Newton told investigators that Lazzarini said he had his back turned to Holland when the gun in Holland’s hand went off.
The prosecution showed a video last week to the jury of Lazzarini’s then-5-year-old daughter telling a forensic child interviewer that while she was in the room when her father shot Holland.
After Newton’s testimony, the judge called for a break.
Testimony resumed Tuesday about midday. A nanny for the Lazzarini family will testify.
Check back with The State for the latest in the case
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 12:49 PM.