A 27-year-old California man who was thrown in the trunk of a car and managed to escape was then shot 16 times with a MAC-10 assault pistol as he lay in the middle of Kane'ohe Bay Drive, according to testimony in Honolulu district court.

A Honolulu police detective also testified yesterday that one of two men arrested in the case said he tried to help the victim escape by popping the trunk lock to let him out.

The testimony also included accounts from a witness who saw a man repeatedly fire at a victim as they ran through the area.

"My heart was pumping and I just wanted to get out of there. If I had the choice, I would forget about it because I'm having trouble sleeping," said Jacqueline Nault, who was driving her daughter and daughter's boyfriend toward Kane'ohe on Kane'ohe Bay Drive when she saw the shooting.

Both men arrested and charged in connection with the murder of Benjamin Grajeda, a man from North Hollywood, Calif., were ordered to stand trial yesterday.

Jerrico Dewon Lindsey, 26, the accused gunman, will be tried on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree terroristic threatening, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of prohibited firearm, possession of prohibited ammunition and illegal storage of a firearm. The most serious charge carries a possible sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Charles Lee Freeman Jr., 35, who told police he drove the getaway car, will be tried on charges of kidnapping and hindering prosecution.

Both men will be arraigned June 4 at 8:30 a.m. in O'ahu Circuit Court. Bail for both was confirmed at $3 million.

William Harrison, Lindsey's attorney, said his client is "going to plead not guilty and we'll proceed to trial in the case."

Three men burst into Grajeda's Kane'ohe home on the evening of May 14, grabbed him and put him in the trunk of a white Crown Victoria and drove away.

Grajeda was shot and killed by one of the men after he escaped from the car's trunk. The shooting occurred on Kane'ohe Bay Drive near Moakaka Place.

Yesterday's testimony came mostly from eyewitnesses who drove past the shooting as it happened, and a Honolulu police homicide detective.

Nault, a witness, testified that she first saw a "white guy" running toward her van. Nault slammed on her brakes and the man ran his hand along the driver's side of her vehicle as he went past.

Nault then saw a "black guy" running on the passenger side of her van while firing a handgun, she said in court. After the men passed her van, Nault looked back and saw the shooting.

When asked by deputy city prosecutor Rom A. Trader if the man she saw discharging the firearm was in court, Nault said "yes," then pointed to Lindsey.

"I saw the white guy on the ground with his hands up and the black guy was standing over him, shooting him," she said.

Denise Wagner-Giltner testified she was sitting in the passenger seat of a car being driven by her daughter when they came around a bend in the Kailua-bound lane of Kane'ohe Bay Drive and saw the shooting. Wagner-Giltner said her daughter slowed to a near stop but that neither got a good look at the shooter.

As they drove by the shooting, Wagner-Giltner said she saw a man dressed in dark clothes and wearing a skull cap standing over and shooting a shirtless man who was lying on his back.

As Wagner-Giltner and her daughter, Nicole, drove past, the shooter aimed at their car and fired but did not hit them, she said.

When asked if she could pick out the shooter if she saw him again, Wagner-Giltner said "no."

"My daughter couldn't believe what she was seeing so she slowed to a stop," Wagner-Giltner said. "I saw him shooting the victim in the road as we passed him."

Honolulu police homicide Detective Sheryl Sunia testified that Freeman identified Lindsey, also known as "Rico," as the shooter, and said that he tried to help Grajeda after Lindsey and a man known only as "Pig Wig" attacked Grajeda in his home.

Deputy city medical examiner Dr. Gayle Suzuki testified that Grajeda had cuts, lacerations and bruises to his head consistent with "blunt force trauma," in addition to the fatal gunshot wounds.

Freeman told police he popped the trunk of the white Crown Victoria he was driving in an attempt to let Grajeda go, Sunia said.

Freeman alleged that Lindsey, who was sitting in the back seat with a MAC-10 on his lap, got out of the car and chased Grajeda down before shooting him, Sunia said.

Police recovered a MAC-10, a .45-caliber handgun and a .44-caliber revolver from a bag marked "Uzi" behind the Jameson's By The Sea restaurant in Hale'iwa near where officers recovered the Crown Victoria and arrested Freeman after 11 p.m. on May 14. Lindsey was arrested about 8 a.m. the next day.

According to the Los Angeles district attorney's office, Grajeda was a convicted felon who had been arrested at least a dozen times in California. He was sentenced to 16 months in state prison after an April 2003 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He used several aliases, including Fernando Correa and Julian Castro, and gave police four different birth dates during his various arrests.

In 1999, Grajeda was arrested on suspicion of assault with a firearm, receiving stolen property and illegal distribution of prescription drugs. The firearm and stolen property charges were dropped after Grajeda pleaded guilty to the prescription drug offense.

Grajeda was given probation and ordered into drug counseling.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.