Man accused in fatal Old Northeast road rage shooting testifies

A man who shot and killed a motorist during a road rage incident in St. Petersburg’s Historic Old Northeast neighborhood three years ago took the witness stand during his murder trial Friday and told jurors he acted in self-defense.

William Shutt, 34, is charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in the shooting that killed Quentin Hicks, 42, on March 27, 2019. Police and prosecutors said Hicks was unarmed when Shutt shot him after the pair had a series of traffic run-ins.

But Shutt told jurors on Friday afternoon that Hicks threatened to kill him and that he thought Hicks was reaching for a gun.

“He already made threats to me,” Shutt said. “He already chased me down the street.”

Shutt’s attorney, Roger Futerman, asked Shutt why he fired seven rounds rather than just one.

“You don’t count bullets when you’re in a situation like that,” he said.

During cross-examination, prosecutor Elizabeth Traverso showed Shutt a picture of Hicks.

“What was it about this gentleman, Mr. Hicks, that made you feel the need to fire six rounds into his body?” she asked.

Shutt said it wasn’t Hicks, but his actions, that made him fear for his safety and decide to shoot.

Traverso asked Shutt why he didn’t flee or tell Hicks off instead of firing a gun.

“You could’ve given the middle finger, right?” she asked.

She also added: “He might still be here if you had only fired once. We might not be in a homicide trial if you had only fired once.”

“If one bullet hit him in the head and killed him, it wouldn’t have mattered,” Shutt replied.

In testimony earlier this week, Hicks’ passenger, Tyler Oliverbrooks Acker, 34, said Hicks wasn’t reaching for a gun and that his friend’s hands stayed visible to Shutt throughout the incident. Acker was shot in the leg during the encounter.

Traverso also noted that a medical examiner testified earlier in the trial that bullets went through Hicks’ arm before hitting his chest, meaning his hands would have been on the steering wheel when he was shot.

The shooting occurred at the intersection of Bay Street NE and 17th Avenue NE. After the shots were fired, Hicks crashed into a tree at First Street N near 20th Avenue NE as he died.

Shutt drove away. He was arrested a week later and has been in the Pinellas County jail awaiting trial since then.

Jurors on Friday also heard from St. Petersburg Police Detective Caitlyn Lance, who interviewed three children who witnessed the shooting while playing in their yard that day. Lance said one of the children had said she saw a black object in Hicks’ hand after the shooting.

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However, when called to the witness stand Friday, the girl, who was 9 at the time of the shooting, had difficulty recalling what had happened that day.

The trial continues Monday.