A law enforcement chief took the stand Thursday morning in the trial of Steven Bixby, giving compelling testimony about the day two lawmen were gunned down.
WYFF News 4's Kisha Foster is in court providing up-to-the-minute reports on the proceedings.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart testified about the support SLED provided to the the Abbeville Sheriff's Office during the standoff in December 2003.
Stewart said that there were at least 50 SLED agents plus FBI agents, the Greenwood Tactical Team and state patrol officers -- approximately 150 officers total.
Stewart said because of the high-powered weaponry used by the Bixbys on that day, an armored car and three robots with cameras were used to survey the Bixby house.
One of the remote-controlled robots captured an image of Sgt. Danny Wilson dead on the floor, with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Stewart said that the Bixbys were using 30.06 and 7 mm. weapons. He said that Bixby also had an AR-15, a rifle similar to the M-16 automatic rifle used by the military.
He described the heavy exchange of gunfire, saying, "I've seen my share of shootings. This had to be the worst because of the situation and the gunfire and the kinds of weapons used against us."
Thursday afternoon, SLED agent/SWAT member Marion Baker described the intense gunfire with the Bixbys and the use of tear gas to try to get them out of the house.
Nearly two dozen witnesses have already taken the stand since the trial began Wednesday morning.
Bixby, 39, is on trial in Abbeville in the deaths of and Wilson Constable Donnie Ouzts. Steven Bixby and his father, Arthur Bixby, are charged with murder. His mother, Rita Bixby, was charged as an accessory. Authorities said that she knew her family planned to harm officers but was not home at the time.
Prosecutors say Wilson was shot when he went to talk to the Bixbys about the state's need to take some land to widen the road. They say Ouzts was killed when he went to check on Wilson.