Testimony continues in deadly officer-involved shooting

In an interrogation video presented Wednesday to the jury, Deputy Daniel Willis was asked what he saw moments before he shot and killed Yvette Smith. At the time, she was standing at the front door of a house on Zimmerman Avenue in Bastrop County.

"And she pointed, then I moved, and engaged," said Willis.

The jury also got to see again the rifle Willis used to shoot Smith. DPS ballistics expert Ryan Mudd compared the rifle with the bullets recovered from the scene.

"I was able to determine that the base piece here was fired from that firearm," said Mudd.

The 2014 shooting happened after deputy Willis was sent twice to a house off of HW 95 between Bastrop and Elgin. Both calls involved allegations of a violent domestic disturbance.

Dash-cam video shows Willis making contact with Willie Thomas, who had been fighting throughout the day with his son Chris. The situation escalated after Chris Thomas' common-law wife later called 911. She claimed her husband and Yvette Smith were struggling over a gun which was also being loaded.

"I was just hiding because they got into it. While I was on the phone, the operator gave me directions to get down, to get low where they could see me," said vela.

The gun was one of two shotguns found in the house. Ranger Brent Barina, who investigated the case, admitted neither was checked for finger prints.

"If fingerprints were on the gun from Ms. Smith or any other people, it would not have conclusively told me that would have held that firearm at the time of the shooting,” said ranger Barina. “It would have just said at some point in the past they would have held that firearm, it would not have conclusively told me that they would have handled that firearm at the time of the shooting,"

If Smith's prints were not on the gun found near her body, Willis' claim that she was armed could have been ruled out.

Amy Wela told the jury that Smith was warned not to go to the door, but went out anyway, unarmed to check on Willie Thomas. Ironically Willis told investigators he got his rifle that night because he was worried someone would come out of the house and shoot Wille Thomas as well as another deputy on the scene.