'I didn't want to': Pensacola man testifies he shot and killed friend in self-defense

A Pensacola man charged with shooting a friend in the back of the head in 2020 testified as a witness in his own trial Thursday.

Stefan Gislason, 30, shot and killed Dillon Shanks at Gislason's Durango Street home on April 20, 2020, according to authorities. Shanks allegedly after became aggressive and tried to start a fight, and Gislason reportedly shot Shanks while trying to make him leave the home.

Gislason is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting.

Taking the stand in his own defense during his trial in Pensacola on Thursday, Gislason said Shanks wanted to fight one of their friends while they were drinking in the backyard, so Gislason fired a bullet into the ground to tell "him to leave and get out of here."

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"There's not going to be a fight here. I just want you to go," Gislason recalled telling Shanks. "He had been refusing to leave and was becoming extremely erratic and aggressive."

Gislason said that while Shanks began walking toward the house from the backyard, Shanks allegedly "charged him into the house" where Gislason said they struggled for the gun before he shot Shanks.

"I didn't want to," Gislason said while crying on the stand. "I never wanted to defend myself like that.

Gislason also admitted to lying to officers during an interview and his initial 911 call, originally stating Shanks killed himself. However, Gislason chalked it up to "having so much going on" at the time.

Previous testimony from law enforcement officers and detectives noted there was not enough time between Gislason and Shanks entering the home and the shot being fired for there to have been a struggle for the gun.

During Assistant State Attorney Matt Gordon's cross examination of Gislason, he pointed out that Gislason even lied to officers about the location of his gun on his person.

"At one point you told officers you carried your gun at your back," Gordon told Gislason. "Another time during an interview you told officers you carried it in a holster on your left hip. Now you're telling the jury something else — that you were carrying it in your pocket."

When asked which statement is the truth, Gislason replied, "I was carrying it in my pocket, sir."

Gislason's testimony Thursday evening capped the second day of a three-day trial. Jurors are expected to enter deliberation Friday.

Benjamin Johnson can be reached at bjohnson@pnj.com or 850-435-8578

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola man Stefan Gislason testifies in second-degree murder trial