Preslin Turner told the jury he thought he might die.
As he was being choked on his hallway floor on the night of March 7, 2025, Turner said he couldn’t breathe and started to lose consciousness.
He had gotten into an argument with the 27-year-old identical twin sons of the woman who lived on the first floor of his Homewood rental, and it turned into a fistfight.
But the twins got the better of him, Turner said, and had him in a choke hold.
“I was in survival mode,” he said.
Turner testified Monday that it was only after he was able to pry himself loose that he pulled his .40-caliber Glock handgun.
He fired three times, killing Therreus Lindsey and seriously wounding Darius Lindsey.
Turner, 37, was charged with homicide and aggravated assault. His trial began last week before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Simquita R.Bridges.
On Monday, Turner spent about two hours on the stand testifying in his own defense.
The case is expected to conclude on Tuesday.
Turner’s lawyer, Aaron Sontz, said in his opening statement that his client acted in self-defense and had a right to protect himself in his own home.
Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney Emma Schoedel, however, said that’s not the case. After Therreus Lindsey was already on the floor having been shot once, Turner shot him again, she said.
‘My life or his’
The entire incident began around 11:30 p.m. that night.
Turner told the jury he had fallen asleep earlier in the evening, and when he woke up, he realized money was missing from his room.
When he spoke to the twins’ mother about it, he said, she began to argue.
One of the twins threatened him, Turner said. Then, he testified, one of the brothers — Turner thought it was Darius Lindsey — ran to to the kitchen, grabbed a frying pan and swung it at him.
Turner said he blocked it with his left arm and grabbed Darius Lindsey.
He said one of the brothers punched him in the jaw.
“It stunned me,” Turner said.
Turner went down to the floor.
“Now, one’s choking me, and the other one’s behind me, punching me,” he testified.
Turner told the jury he got out of one choke hold only to be placed in another.
“My body started kind of going limp,” he said. “From there, I knew it was my life or his from being choked.
“In my mind, I was thinking I’m going to die in the hallway.”
He always carried a gun
Then, Turner testified, he heard his father, who lived on the second floor of the house, yelling at the twins, and he was able to escape the choke hold.
“Once I got up off the floor, I went for my firearm,” he said.
Although Turner described himself as dizzy with blurred vision, he said he fired one shot at one brother — Darius Lindsey — who was struck in the back and ran out of the house.
Therreus Lindsey, Turner said, went into the front bedroom and ran back out carrying something silver.
“He runs at me, and I shot twice,” Turner said.
Testimony from crime scene investigators revealed that a screwdriver was found under Therreus Lindsey’s body that night.
After Turner fired, he testified, he ran upstairs, grabbed his cell phone and dialed 911.
Turner told the jury that he always carried his gun on him for self-protection.
Evidence showed he bought it about four years earlier from a licensed gun dealer.
“In your mind, was the fight still going on?” asked defense attorney Aaron Sontz.
“Yes,” Turner answered. “I went for my firearm.”
Conflicting accounts
But earlier in the trial, Darius Lindsey testified that Turner did not have his weapon on him during the fight.
Instead, he said it was only after the brothers let Turner go that the man ran up to his third-floor bedroom, retrieved his gun and returned to the first floor and shot them.
The twins’ mother, Dionne Staples, who also testified, concurred with her son’s testimony.
However, during cross-examination on Friday, Sontz repeatedly pointed out inconsistencies between her testimony at trial and what she told police.
“Sometimes, I might say Darius, and I mean Therreus,” Staples said. “My son was just killed in front of my eyes… I’m not thinking about who did what.”
Staff writer Justin Vellucci contributed to this story.