A friend of the German exchange student
who was killed in a Montana garage said that breaking into garages was a common pastime for teens in Missoula, but no one thought it could be fatal.
Robby Pazmino, who was with Diren Dede the night he died, testified on Tuesday. It was the sixth day in
the trial of Markus Kaarma, who is accused of deliberate homicide in the 27 April shooting.
Dede, who Pazmino called his best friend, entered Kaarma’s garage just after midnight to find alcohol. Pazmino estimated that the two had “garage-hopped” three to five sites with local teenagers.
“I thought it wasn’t good and I didn’t like it, but we didn’t know that if you went into a garage someone could shoot you,” Pazmino said.
Pazmino said he heard a voice say: “I see you,” and then heard the first of four gunshots. He said he took off running to Dede’s host parents’ house, thinking his friend was close behind. He didn’t learn Dede had been shot until returning to the scene with Dede’s host parents.
