Long Beach manslaughter trial begins

Long Beach Det. James Canner was driving on National Boulevard two years ago when, he recalled, shrieks of horror split the air.

"I had never heard screams like that before," Det. Lt. Canner testified Monday in Nassau County Court. "A woman was screaming 'He killed him. He killed him.' "

Canner testified in the first day of the manslaughter trial of Evan Potts, a Queens College student from Oceanside accused of running over and killing Ian Sharinn, 34, after the two got into a fight on the road May 15.

If convicted, Potts, now 24, faces a maximum of 5 to 15 years in prison.

Both sides agree Sharinn, of Long Beach, had used his car to block Potts from passing him on National Boulevard. After Sharinn got out of his car, Potts called 911 and tried to flee by going in reverse, then drove his car over Sharinn, killing him, police said.

In his opening argument before state Court of Claims Judge Philip Grella, prosecutor Everett Witherell said no matter how scared Potts was of the 6-foot, 5-inch, 250-pound Sharinn, he did not have the right to run him down.

"No matter how mad Ian Sharinn was when he got out of his Porsche, he had a right to live," Witherell said.

But Potts' defense lawyer, Stanley Kopilow of Garden City, said in court that his client, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and 140 pounds, was trying to escape Sharinn, not hurt him.

"The evidence is going to show that there was only one man doing the hunting that day, and he didn't have a hunting license," Kopilow said of Sharinn.

During the 911 call Potts made, the line remained open, and recorded Sharinn's last words to Potts, "Now what the ---- are you going to do?"

Prosecutors say Potts' voice can be heard on the tape calling Sharinn a "big stud" as he runs him over. Kopilow said those words are inaudible on the tape and, he said, experts could not be sure who said them. The tape will be played for the jury.

Sharinn's brother, Marc Sharinn, 41, took the stand Monday to identify photographs of his brother, first smiling two years ago on Mother's Day, then at the coroner's office. He did not look at Potts, who sat slightly hunched at the defense table.

On the stand, Canner said he stopped his car after hearing the woman scream and helped two witnesses pull Potts from his car: "He was very, very excited. He kept saying 'I tried to call 911. I didn't know what to do.' "