A Butler man recounted the events leading up to his 2017 arrest for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon during the first day of his trial.

Peter D. Gall, now 32, testified Wednesday that he went to meet a friend at Clearview Mall following a murdered friend's funeral on June 20, 2017. He told jurors the mall was a place where he and friends regularly gathered during high school days.

Gall explained that his already upsetting day worsened when two mall security guards approached him and his friend, John Pillar, now 31, around midnight. He said he was on the phone with another bereaved friend when Christina Cox, a mall security guard, told him and Pillar to leave the mall parking lot.

“I couldn't really hear what was going on,” Gall said. “I was trying to hear the phone conversation in one ear and then in the other I hear the woman yelling at me.”

An argument ensued between the two men and Cox.

“(Gall) said we're not real cops and that we can't make them leave,” Cox testified.

Cox said she asked her co-worker, Michael Choate-Speckert, now 22, to accompany her as a witness while she confronted the two men in case there were any problems. Choate-Speckert also serves as a military police officer with the Marines, and has a concealed carry permit.

Cox attempted to copy the license plate numbers of the cars belonging to Pillar and Gall, which escalated tensions between the three. Gall then began driving in circles around the lot, and Cox trailed him in her car.

Gall testified that Choate-Speckert suddenly intervened. He added that the security guard never identified himself, nor was he in uniform.

“Somebody jumped in front of my car and slapped down on my hood,” Gall said. “I didn't know what was going on. He pulled a gun out, held it to my face and said get the F-word out of the vehicle and get to the ground,”

Gall said he drove away after seeing the man with the gun. He added that he didn't know who Choate-Speckert was or how he was involved in the situation.

The prosecution, on the other hand, told a much different story, Both Cox and Choate-Speckert testified that Gall purposely drove his Jeep into Choate-Speckert, injuring his knees and an ankle in the process. According to testimony, Gall was driving only about 10 mph.

As a result of the incident, Gall was charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault, as well as misdemeanor counts of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct and harassment.

Choate-Speckert was fired by the security company for having the gun.

“This case is not going to be like the ones you see on T.V., no forensics, no tire marks. We don't even have security footage,” Assistant District Attorney Robert Zanella told the jury in his opening statements. “This will come down to old-fashioned, who do you believe.”

Choate-Speckert testified that Gall saw him and made the decision not to slow down or stop. He explained that he got out of Cox's vehicle when she and Gall stopped driving in circles. He said he did that to keep Gall stopped so that Cox could pull behind Gall's vehicle and copy down his license plate number.

Choate-Speckert said Gall drove his car into him, hurting his knees and causing him to lean forward onto the hood. He then jumped out of the way, spraining his ankle. Gall then turned his car around and began to drive toward him.

“I pulled my gun out and I was about to shoot him when he stopped,” Choate-Speckert said.

Gall and Pillar then drove out of the lot separately and Gall was interviewed by state police later that same morning. Authorities ultimately arrested Gall nearly a month later on July 13.

“The issue is, what exactly occurred in this 10 or 15 second incident?” Al Lindsay, Gall's defense lawyer, asked the jury in his opening statement. “You hold this man's life in your hands. Aggravated assault is one of the most serious charges in our state.”

Lindsay further argued that there was no injury and questioned why Gall was being charged with such a serious felony.

“So why are they charging him with this serious crime? They're charging this guy to justify (Choate-Speckert) pulling a gun out,” Lindsay said.

Jurors will be back at court Thursday to hear the closing arguments from both sides and determine if Gall is guilty of the charges. He could face several years in prison if found guilty of the most serious charge of second-degree felony aggravated assault.