Tuscaloosa Jury Hears Testimony On First Day Of Trial For Man Accused Of Killing Indiana Teen

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A Tuscaloosa County jury heard from several witnesses Tuesday in the first day of testimony for the trial of Zachary Profozich, who is accused of murder in the 2020 shooting death of an Indiana University student on University Boulevard.

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As Patch previously reported, 19-year-old Schuyler Bradley was fatally shot in the stomach during an altercation in the early morning hours of Oct. 16, 2020, and Profozich, who was 22 at the time, was charged with his murder after first being jailed for attempted murder in the immediate aftermath.

Jury selection concluded Monday evening. The 14-person jury, which includes two alternates, consists of six Black women, six White men, one Black man and one White woman.

In total, the jury heard from nine witnesses on Tuesday, some of whom Patch has chosen not to name.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Marshall began the day with opening statements for the prosecution and said Profozich was "unprovoked and unjustified" when he shot Bradley a single time with a .357 handgun before he "walked away unbothered."

When speaking to the jury, Marshall described the entire interaction as lasting about 30 seconds. He also said the altercation was spurred by a shoulder check between two groups of men walking along the sidewalk in the 1700 block of University Boulevard.

As was later mentioned during testimony, a friend of Profozich pushed one of Bradley's friends before Profozich allegedly removed his handgun from his waistband and fired the shot that ultimately killed Bradley.

Marshall also said multiple witnesses would testify, which they later did, that Bradley told Profozich "don't point that fucking BB gun at me."

A witness in the passenger seat of a passing vehicle would later testify he saw a man point a gun at another man and shoot moments after he had told the driver to slow down so they could watch the altercation develop on the nearby sidewalk.

That witness then immediately called 911 to report the shooting, with Shot Spotter reports presented Tuesday showing the fatal shot was fired at 1:30:58 a.m.

"[Profozich] didn't call 911, he walked away," Marshall told the jury, before saying the defendant's friend was bothered by what he witnessed and later reported the shooting at the Tuscaloosa Police Department headquarters.

Defense attorney Joel Sogol delivered the opening statements for Profozich's defense team, saying that Bradley's group of three men forced Profozich and his friend off of the sidewalk, which initially escalated the situation.

Sogol said that after Bradley's group named-called Profozich and his friend, Griffin Ridgeway, Ridgeway turned around and gave the other three men the middle finger.

He was also quick to point out that all three men in Bradley's group were underage and had been drinking throughout the evening after driving down from Bloomington, Indiana, to attend Alabama's football game against Georgia that Saturday.

Sogol also said Ridgeway got into a brief physical altercation with Mitchell Cross before Bradley became even more upset and said "I ought to beat the fucking shit out of you."

Sogol's biggest claim during opening statements, however, came when he told the jury "none of this would have happened" had Bradley not slightly crouched and acted like he was going for a gun in his waistband — an aspect of the case that has not yet been corroborated by any evidence at trial.

WITNESS TESTIMONY

The first witness to take the stand was a former University of Alabama Police officer now employed with the Tuscaloosa Police Department who initially responded after hearing the lone shot and being called to the scene.

The officer testified that when he arrived to the 1700 block of University Boulevard after being parked at the nearby University Club, he made contact with more than half a dozen people gathered around Bradley as he lay bleeding on the sidewalk in front of a private residence.

The jury and the rest of the courtroom then watched the officer's body camera footage and at one point Bradley can be heard saying he could not feel his legs.

Another Indiana University student and one of Bradley's friends not involved in any physical altercation but who was present at the shooting was the next to take the stand and said he and his friends arrived in Tuscaloosa sometime between 5-7 p.m. the evening before the shooting.

He testified they were staying with one of Bradley's friends, former Alabama football player Jayden George, and had gone out to World of Beer and then Innisfree before setting out on foot in the early morning hours to go eat at Waffle House on The Strip.

After he admitted on the stand to being intoxicated at the time of the shooting, Bradley's friend briefly described the physical spat that led up to the shooting.

He also corroborated that Bradley told Profozich "don't point that BB gun at me," after Profozich pulled his gun, shot once and walked away from the scene.

Surveillance video shown to the jury did not show Profozich fire the shot but did show Bradley fall flat on the sidewalk and Profozich walk away, followed by his friend who later made the initial contact with police as they looked for a suspect.

During cross examination by defense attorney Mary Turner, the victim's friend testified Bradley told the other two men opposite of his group in the altercation "don't fuck with them" after the initial interaction on the sidewalk.

However, Bradley's friend also testified that he didn't remember any physical contact occurring between the two groups.

After hearing testimony from a passerby who had been in a vehicle and witnessed the shooting, the jury heard from Griffin Ridgeway — Profozich's companion that night who had previously worked with the defendant at Rounders.

Ridgeway testified he had come to Tuscaloosa to stay on Profozich's couch after a night on the town.

In recounting the events of that evening and on into the early morning hours before the shooting, Ridgeway said the two men first went to Bear Trap, where Profozich worked as a bouncer, around 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 15, 2020.

It was mentioned during testimony, however, that Profozich was not working the night before or morning of the shooting.

After spending several hours drinking at Bear Trap, to the point that Ridgeway vomited on himself, the two men went back to Profozich's girlfriend's apartment.

It was during this stop that Profozich allegedly grabbed his .357 handgun, despite his girlfriend's roommate later testifying that she told him it wasn't necessary.

Ridgeway also testified to seeing Profozich in the apartment with his handgun before they left again to spend more time at Bear Trap.

As Patch previously reported, a civil suit that has since been settled in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court provides additional insight into the hours leading up to the shooting.

The civil suit against Profozich and The Bear Trap says that on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, Profozich was present at the popular college bar between 5:25 p.m. and 8:11 p.m.

There is a half-hour gap in the timeline before Profozich was reportedly seen again in the bar from 8:44 p.m. until 1:13 a.m. the next morning.

The civil suit goes on to allege that Profozich consumed alcohol at The Bear Trap for a total of seven hours and 15 minutes. In the civil suit, attorneys for Bradley's mother argued that The Bear Trap had continued to serve Profozich well after it was visibly apparent that he was intoxicated.

Profozich is then said to have left The Bear Trap at or around 1:13 a.m., making his way west for roughly half a mile down University Boulevard in the direction of downtown Tuscaloosa.

A UAPD officer who testified Tuesday also said he had travelled westbound down University Boulevard after being told that was the direction the suspect had gone on foot.

During additional testimony, Ridgeway said that after spending more time at Bear Trap, Profozich wanted to go downtown to Roxy's and the two set off on foot along University Boulevard.

He then told the jury they made contact with a group of three men who were "trash talking" as they walked toward them on the sidewalk.

After the group "shoulder checked" Profozich and Ridgeway, before continuing on down the sidewalk, Ridgeway confirmed that he turned around and gave them the middle finger before he kept on walking.

It was at this moment, he testified, that he heard who he believed to be Profozich say "stop," before hearing someone else say "That's just a fucking BB gun."

He went on to say he heard a single shot ring out and then saw a man later identified as Bradley laying on the ground.

"I was shocked," Ridgeway said. "Somebody had just gotten shot."

Ridgeway then commented on the video shown to the jury that shows the two men walking away from the initial scene and said they began running as soon as they were out of sight, before jumping a fence and Profozich leaving his handgun in the backyard of the residence where the shooting had occurred on the sidewalk out front.

"I was terrified," Ridgeway said. "I asked [Profozich] why he did that and what was wrong with him."

Ridgeway, a short time later, said he went to the police station to report the shooting and said Profozich had told him he'd already spoken to a lawyer, who told him to sleep it off and talk to the police in the morning.

He also testified he heard threats prior to the shooting, including "I'll beat your ass."

In an illuminating contrast, the jury then heard from Mitchell Cross, a friend of Bradley's who said he had been pushed down during the initial physical altercation on the sidewalk.

Cross was a fraternity brother with Bradley at Indiana University and recalled getting up off the ground after being pushed by Ridgeway and seeing Profozich pointing a gun at Bradley.

He also confirmed Bradley's comment about the handgun being a BB gun and said "it happened quickly."

Cross then testified that Profozich "casually walked away" after shooting his friend in the stomach.

"It was the first time I'd seen a gun other than on a police officer or something like that," Cross said.

Under cross examination, Turner again asked Cross about the group all being under the age of 21 and out drinking in the hours before the shooting.

Cross also agreed that he'd told investigators Bradley was the type of person who "wouldn't take shit from anybody."

But when redirected by Marshall to clarify that comment for the jury, he described his slain friend as "a guy who was willing to have his friends' backs. Somebody you would want on your side and in your corner."

After hearing from the roommate of Profozich's girlfriend, who corroborated seeing the defendant with his handgun, the jury then saw body camera footage from another responding officer that showed some of Bradley's final moments of consciousness before he died the next day at Children's Hospital in Birmingham.

The jury saw video of Bradley receiving immediate medical attention from first responders, where he can be heard saying "help me please," and "Get it out, get it out, get it out."

Marshall said during his opening statements that the bullet lodged into Bradley's abdomen when he was shot in the stomach after responding officers immediately noticed there was no exit wound on his back.

Bradley also told first responders he couldn't move one of his legs and writhed in pain as they tried to administer medical aid.

Bradley's mother, seated on the front row behind the prosecution's table in a packed courtroom, became visibly upset and held a tissue to her face as she watched some of her son's final moments play out over a courtroom projector.

The responding officer then said they failed to recover a shell casing from the scene and commented on how Bradley's condition began to "deteriorate" as he became less responsive.

Testimony during the evidentiary phase of the trial will resume Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. in Circuit Judge Allen W. May Jr.'s courtroom.

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