COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Killing a longtime friend during heated argument about money felt surreal, Amin Smith said Tuesday, like an out-of-body experience.
"I wasn't upset," Smith said. "I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. It was like a dream. I didn't even feel like I was in my body."
Smith, 23, is on trial for the murder of Dushanti Hassell, 21, who was gunned down in a Lincoln Square alley last spring. In a rare moment of testimony from a murder defendant, Smith took the stand Tuesday to describe killing his friend — and insist he acted in self-defense.
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The pair had met up about 6 p.m. March 22, 2015, to head to a Gold Coast restaurant for dinner, Smith said.
Since neither man had a car, Smith offered a mutual friend $10 for a ride, he testified. Smith soon found himself sitting in a red Jeep Cherokee with three people: Hassell, the friend who agreed to drive and that man's girlfriend, according to court testimony.
As the group headed toward Lake Shore Drive, the SUV's driver pulled off the road so that he could urinate in an alley near Winnemac and Leavitt about 6:30 p.m., Smith testified.
That's when "Dushanti [Hassell] asked me to talk in private," Smith said. The men got out of the Jeep and walked away until they were alone.
Smith said Hassell asked to borrow money and became enraged when Smith declined. Smith was carrying about $200 cash, he said, and had been working two part-time jobs: one at the Signature Room and one at The Cheesecake Factory.
Hassell reached toward Smith's pocket twice and "told me I was being petty as hell," Smith said. Smith slapped away Hassell's hand, he testified, prompting Hassell to punch Smith in the face.
"I fought back," Smith said. "I fought back."
As the men threw punches, Hassell reached toward his waistband, where he was carrying a gun, Smith said. The pair struggled over the gun before Smith was able to grab it and fire a single shot into Hassell's skull.
As Smith testified Tuesday, Hassell's mother turned her head and body away from the man to avoid looking at him. Tears streamed down her face.
Smith continued: "I was shell-shocked because all of that happened so fast. I just wanted to take my friend out to eat. ... I wish that I just gave him the money."
A panicked Smith then ran back to the Jeep and began cleaning blood off his face and hands using a towel he found in the back seat, he said. He also wiped down the gun, which he later threw into Lake Michigan, Smith admitted during cross-examination.
Since Smith lost his phone in the tussle with Hassell, he said, he borrowed a friend's phone to call his mother for a ride home. Mother and son soon met at a nearby gas station. Smith was arrested five days later.
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Of the fatal altercation, Smith said: "It hurt me because I didn't expect that from my friend. This is a person who slept at my house. My mom fed him. I fed him."
During cross-examination, Assistant State's Attorney Joy Repella asked whether Smith went to a doctor or photographed his injuries after the fight. Smith said he did not.
Repella also pointed out that Smith and Hassell had argued in the past over a stolen iPod. Smith said he lent Hassell an iPod so that Hassell could upload some music, but Hassell instead sold the device and kept the cash. Smith claims he was no longer angry, and that he didn't even know how to use the iPod.
Prosecutors are seeking a first-degree murder conviction, while defense attorney Frank Himel said Smith acted in self-defense.
The trial will continue Wednesday morning in Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan's courtroom. The jury could reach a verdict as early as Wednesday.
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