Moments leading to towing tragedy detailed in testimony

An eyewitness who is central to Detra Farries’ defense told a jury Tuesday that dragging-victim Allen Lew Rose used a “bowling motion” to throw tow-hooks onto Farries’ vehicle as she drove away.

What Christopher Dunlap told police helped shape the defense’s claim that Rose, 35, put himself in danger at Hill Park Apartments on Feb. 23, 2011.

Dunlap’s testimony drew more questions from the jury than any other witness ­— and sent prosecutors scrambling to keep the focus off Rose’s conduct and on Farries’ alleged recklessness.

At times, they had an uphill battle.

Farries’ public defenders cornered an earlier prosecution witness into admitting inconsistencies — such as his initial claim to police that he saw a burgundy pickup being hooked up to a tow truck.

Rose was dragged behind Farries’ black GMC sport-utility vehicle.

Opening statements were Friday and prosecutors are expected to take up to three weeks to lay out their case against Farries. Then the defense will have the chance to put on witnesses. It’s unknown if Farries, charged with three felonies and facing up to 24 years on the most serious of them, will testify.

Prosecutors argue Farries’ decision to drive away from the tow led to Rose’s death along with her reckless driving afterward. Other witnesses called on Tuesday testified about Farries’ rapid exit from the complex and a turn she made as Rose came loose from the cable in which he was entangled.

Defense attorneys say she was unaware Rose had become snagged and didn’t know he was behind her.

Dunlap told the jury the episode began when he casually remarked that “somebody was going to get towed.”

According to Dunlap’s testimony, Farries began walking toward her SUV before Rose maneuvered the truck behind her vehicle.

“She was probably already half way there by the time he started pulling forward,” said Dunlap, who testified he met Farries that morning when his uncle, a mechanic, asked him for help working on Farries’ daughter’s car.

Farries was moving her family from Denver to Houston and had “their worldly belongings” in Farries’ SUV, her defense says.

Dunlap, a military veteran who served in Kuwait, said he hasn’t spoken to Farries since.

Farries was inside her vehicle with the engine running by the time Rose got out of his tow-truck, grabbed his tow cables and approached her blocked-in vehicle at the pace of a “speed walk.”

Winding up like a bowler, Rose threw the tow hooks onto Farries’ rear axle as she drove away — ending in what Dunlap once described as a “lucky catch.”

Dunlap demonstrated the bowling motion for the jury, and said Farries’ vehicle pulled foward “simultaneous” with Rose’s underhand toss.

With the cable secured to Farries’ moving vehicle, Rose ran back to his tow truck and headed for the tow controls, Dunlap said.

After the cable came off the winch with a snap, Rose ran after Farries’ vehicle, Dunlap said.

According to Dunlap, Rose ran south after Farries but changed direction suddenly and went east. After traveling separate routes, Rose and Farries converged at the complex’s exit, and as Farries turned onto North Murray Boulevard, Rose was swept off his feet — snagged by the cable.

When asked what he thought was going through Rose’s mind during his dragging, Dunlap turned his back to the jury and wept. He also testified that he returned to the complex after speaking with police to make sure his observations made sense.  

Dunlap and his uncle are expected to be the only two witnesses who can speak to how the botched towing occurred.

Other witnesses, however, have testified about the moment Rose became snagged while standing at or near the exit as Farries left the complex — saying she was spinning her wheels and driving fast.

Colorado Springs police say they lost DVD recordings of their video-recorded interviews with Dunlap and his uncle, Donald “Doc” Hearn — prompting a judge to grant defense attorneys “wide latitude” to question the integrity of the police investigation.

Dunlap initially told police that Rose “jumped on” or “stomped” on the cable, but testified that he now believes that Rose must have been jumping out of the way.

Prosecutors were put on the defensive earlier Tuesday when a witness came under a pitched attack for changing statements.

Jerry Flores, a homeless man who was taken in by a friend at Hill Park Apartments, initially told police that his roommate pulled him out of the way of a speeding vehicle that “fishtailed” through the complex’s sandy area. A police evidence technician testified earlier that he saw no sign of fishtailing in the sand.

Under cross-examination by lead defense attorney Eydie Elkins, Flores admitted that he first described it as a burgundy pickup.

Later, when he was interviewed by a detective, Flores said he saw the tow truck with its flatbed angled down and the pickup hooked up. The flatbed was not lowered into a towing position, according to photos shown at trial.

“I have short-term memory loss,” Flores said. “But as I calm down, I get my memory back.”

Flores said he remembered what actually happened by the time he spoke with Colorado Springs police detective Jason Otero.

“He needed me to figure out what I saw,” Flores said.

Flores also acknowledged that his friend told police after the dragging that he had “rent trouble and needed food,” and a police officer drove the pair to the Lighthouse, a substance abuse center in Colorado Springs.

Before that happened, though, Flores and his friend were called upon to identify Farries as the woman who nearly ran them down.

Flores said he saw her through an open rear passenger window — testifying to a detail no one else has corroborated.

Flores testified the only thing he had to eat that day was a cookie. Elkins pointed out that was a bad idea for a diabetic, and Flores agreed.

Testimony is expected to resume at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday.