SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Thursday morning, key witnesses took the stand in the trial of the Navy sailor accused of setting a fire aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard.
Prosecutors began calling more witnesses to the stand. The first witness to testify Thursday is the sailor who said he saw Ryan Mays head down to the area where the fire started.
Kenji Velasco told prosecutors he was on watch duty that day. He said he saw Mays head down to the area where the fire started. Mays was wearing bootcamp coveralls and carrying a bucket at the time.
He says he didn't see anyone head down the ramp that morning other than Mays. About 20 minutes after seeing him, he notices smoke coming from the ship.
During cross-examination, Valesco said he was scared someone might think he started the fire. He also said the person who went down to the area was wearing a mask.
But there was a small interaction, he said that person acted like Mays.
Another witness called Thursday morning, Matthew Betz, who worked deck duty with Mays said he wasn't on duty the day of the fire, but he woke up to social media posts and seeing smoke coming from the ship.
After leaving the barracks, Betz said he saw Mays on base and that he seemed "a little more excited than usual." He told prosecutors that, about a week prior, he showed Mays how to enter and exit the area where the fire started, adding that Mays was the only one to wear bootcamp coveralls on deck duty and that it's "uncommon to see people wearing them."
Thursday marked day four of the trial. Moving forward, more sailors are expected to testify. If Mays is found guilty, he could serve a life sentence.
