Lawrence Dority murder trial: Man accused of killing Magic player Adrian Payne claims self-defense

Man accused of killing Magic player Adrian Payne claims self-defense

The man accused of fatally shooting former Orlando Magic player Adrian Payne took the stand Tuesday, claiming he acted in self-defense during the 2022 incident.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A judge and attorneys are finalizing jury instructions in the second-degree murder trial of Lawrence Dority, who is accused of fatally shooting former Orlando Magic player Adreian Payne in 2022.

What we know:

Lawrence Dority, 32, is on trial for second-degree murder in the 2022 shooting death of former NBA player Adreian Payne. 

The incident happened on May 9 outside Dority’s Orlando-area home. Dority claims he acted in self-defense after Payne allegedly threatened him and appeared to reach for a weapon. 

Surveillance video and body cam footage recorded the moments surrounding the shooting, which is now central to the trial.

The backstory:

Payne, 31, and his girlfriend, Tara Walker, arrived at Dority’s home that night to help mediate a domestic dispute between Dority and his own girlfriend, Tatiana Mesa. The police report in this case states that it was not uncommon, and court records show Dority had been arrested — though not convicted — for domestic battery on Mesa previously.

The two men had been acquainted through Walker and Mesa, who had been friends for 15 years. 

Dority had been at a Mother’s Day celebration. His father dropped him and his 10-year-old son off at home around 1:30 a.m. That’s when he saw what he thought was Walker’s car, and walked up to it.

When he got to the car, he saw it was actually Payne inside, and repeatedly asked Payne what he was doing there. He claims Payne threatened him, saying "I’ll smoke you," and that he believed he saw a "silver object" in Payne’s waistband at the time. During testimony, Dority reiterated that he believed Payne had a gun.

The defense pointed out that Payne is about 6 feet, 8 inches tall — a full foot taller than Dority.

Dority went upstairs to get his gun, then came back downstairs and back over to Payne. Walker screamed for him to put down his weapon, but Dority shot Payne.

The defense argues that Dority shot Payne in self-defense — that Payne was much larger than him, and had threatened him, making him fear for his life. The prosecution argues Payne never went on Dority’s property, didn’t follow Dority up to his apartment, was in his own car when he was shot, was unarmed, and had no reason to be killed.

What we don't know:

It’s unclear what exactly was seen on Payne’s person that Dority believed was a weapon. Prosecutors say Payne was unarmed, and no firearm or weapon was recovered from him. The jury will also weigh conflicting witness accounts and whether Dority’s actions met the legal threshold for self-defense.

What they're saying:

Dority took the stand Tuesday and claimed he acted in self-defense. He testified that Payne, who had arrived with his girlfriend to help mediate a domestic dispute, appeared threatening and had a silver object at his hip.

"I thought I was going to die," Dority said, alleging Payne told him, "I’ll smoke you," before Dority retrieved a gun from his home.

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Tara Walker, Payne’s girlfriend, said Payne never entered Dority’s apartment or acted aggressively, and that he was shot while seated in his car. 

"I asked him not to raise his weapon," Walker testified. "He asked why we were here. I explained Tatiana asked me to be here."

The defense argued Payne’s size and words made Dority fear for his life. Prosecutors countered that Payne was unarmed and never posed a threat, asserting the shooting was unjustified.

What's next:

On Wednesday morning, the judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney will finish up instructions to give the jury, detailing what they’ll need to consider for the second-degree murder charges.

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After that, both sides will present their closing arguments and the jury will begin deliberating.