OBERLIN — An Oakdale man accused in the fatal shooting of his grandfather waived his right to a jury trial Wednesday and asked Judge Joel Davis to decide the verdict.

Laken Johnson, 18, is charged with second-degree murder in the November 2013 shooting death of his grandfather, Norman Ray Johnson Sr., 64, of Oakdale. The elder Johnson was shot while he was in the shower.

According to several videotaped statements presented in court Wednesday, Johnson initially told investigators that someone else had shot his grandfather while he was outside tending to livestock.

He later confessed to shooting his grandfather and led investigators to a 12-gauge shotgun hidden in the woods near the home, but told investigators the shooting was an accident. According to the video, Johnson said he was “messing around” with the shotgun and pointing at his grandfather, but did not realize it was loaded.

“I was messing around and just pulled the trigger to hear the clock sound like I always do,” a calm Johnson said in a video statement to police during questioning. “I accidentally shot him…It’s my fault for not checking the gun.”

During opening statements, prosecutor Joe Green said Johnson gave statements indicating that he was outside when he heard the shots and his grandfather holler, but he didn’t see anyone come out of the residence,”

“Later he admitted he did shoot his grandfather,” Green said.

Prosecutors contend Johnson shot his grandfather, covered him with towels and took more than $10,000 from the residence so he could be with a young lady from Houston, who he had been communicating with on a Playstation game.

Defense Attorney David Deshotels said during opening statements, the shooting was the result of years of strict parental control by the grandfather who did not want to “share Laken” with anyone including the boy’s mother. That tension “ exploded” into a “showdown” on the day of the fatal shooting, he said.

“Eighteen years of Mr. Norman denying this child a relationship with his mother,” Deshotels said. “It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Johnson told investigators he panicked after finding his grandfather shot.

In his video statement, Johnson said he packed a suitcase and took money from two safes in the home like his grandfather had always told him to do if something happened to him. He then drove to Lake Charles “to try to calm his nerves” before turning around and driving back to Oakdale where he told family friends Larry and Judy McCollough that someone had shot his grandfather.

He later told investigators he was going to Houston to meet a girl he’d met playing Playstation games, but changed his mind after talking to the girl about staying with her.

The McColloughs went back to the residence with Johnson and called police.

Lt. Bruce Hudgrens of the Oakdale Police Department testified that when he went into the house he saw someone in the bathtub covered up with towels. He said when he pulled the towels back and saw the face, he realized it was Johnson’s grandfather. He checked for any signs of life, but said he appeared to have been dead for sometime.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Christopher Tape testified that Johnson died of a gunshot wound to the upper left abdomen with the point of entry no further than 2-3 feet with no exit wound..No other injuries or bruising were found on the body, he said.

Tape reported the death as a homicide and testified that the wound was consistent with a single-shot 12-gauge shotgun.

Officer Brandon Johnson of the Oakdale Police Department testified that he found a bullet hole in the shower curtain in the bathtub with the victim’s body. He also recovered several boxes of 12-gauge cartridges and found the victim’s wallet in a kitchen trash can along a money wrapper for $2,000. A suitcase with video games, $10,500 in cash, a Bible belonging the victim and the suspect’s clothing were seized from the victim’s truck during the investigation.

A 12-gauge shotgun with one spent shell casing inside was found in the woods across the residence, according to Officer VIrgil West of the Oakdale Police Department. Johnson had told investigators where he hid the weapon.(MGNonline)