LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Clearlake resident implicated in a July 2015 homicide took the stand on Wednesday as part of an immunity agreement to testify against the man who authorities believe actually was responsible for the crime.
David Cox, also known as “Cyclops,” was the only witness to testify on Wednesday afternoon in the murder trial of Clearlake resident Billy Raymond Mount, 36.
Mount is on trial for the fatal shooting of Steven Galvin, 40, who was walking through a Clearlake neighborhood on the afternoon of July 2, 2015, when witnesses say a small white pickup pulled up, there were two gunshots and Galvin collapsed nearby.
Police found Galvin on the ground in the front yard of a residence. When Clearlake Police Det. Ryan Peterson asked Galvin who shot him, he said “Cyclops” numerous times. Galvin died a short time later at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake.
The exchange between Peterson and Galvin was recorded on Peterson's body camera, with that footage played in court on the opening day of the trial on July 8, as Lake County News has reported: http://bit.ly/29Foev6 .
While police would take Cox into custody and interview him on the day of the shooting, they ultimately concluded that Mount had committed the murder.
Mount and Cox were acquainted, with both being skinheads. Cox has proved to be one of the prosecution's main witnesses against Mount.
On Wednesday, Cox appeared in court with his attorney, Barry Melton, who sat alongside of him in the witness box.
In a short hearing out of the presence of the jury, Cox was questioned by Deputy District Attorney Sharon Lerman and defense attorney Andrea Sullivan.
During a lunchtime meeting that day with Cox, Lerman said he disclosed he had taken two Valium along with his normal psychiatric medications, which he said was due to him having nightmares for two weeks because of having to testify in court. He confirmed he could testify, in response to Lerman's questions.
Lerman also questioned him about a new statement he made that a picture of a gun that investigators had shown to him looked like a gun Mount had shown him a few months before the shooting.
He said he was 90-percent sure it was the same gun, and he remembered it because it looked like a gun he had owned at the time. Cox said he later sold his own gun because “there was no reason to have it.”
In addition, Cox is prohibited from owning a firearm because he's a convicted felon. He has two felony burglary convictions in 2004 and a 2010 conviction for grand theft from a person, according to his testimony.
Even though Cox has given police several interviews, and testified in Mount's preliminary hearing earlier this year, he had never told the prosecution that he believed the gun Mount had shown him was similar to the one in the picture.
Sullivan successfully argued to have Cox's new statement about the similarity of the gun in the picture to Mount's gun excluded, calling it an “11th hour” disclosure that would be difficult to follow up on for the purposes of the trial. She also noted rules for barring late discovery in such situations.
“Is this even something the people intend to offer?” Judge Andrew Blum asked Lerman, who said yes.
Blum ultimately granted Sullivan's objection to the presentation of the statement, noting it had minimal probative value.
When the jury was brought in, Lerman continued her questioning of Cox, and asked him about the three immunity agreements he's signed with the District Attorney's Office. The agreements were signed in February before a second interview with Peterson, in April at Mount's preliminary hearing and again for Mount's trial.
The line of questioning explained that Cox's statements in court can't be used to prosecute him, although that doesn't mean he can't be prosecuted in the case. Lerman said the agreements are only binding if Cox testifies truthfully.
During his testimony, Cox disclosed that he suffers from schizoaffective disorder and depression, along with being bipolar. He takes medications for those conditions and also recreationally uses marijuana and methamphetamine.
He also acknowledged being a skinhead since 2008, but denied that he is a white supremacist. “It's a way of life not a state of mind,” he said. “It's about standing for what you believe in.”
Cox claimed to be a “hardcore skinhead” or a “music skinhead,” and is an aspiring rapper. He said he believes in peaceful resistance and called Martin Luther King Jr. one of his biggest heroes.
Cox acknowledged that at one point he collected Nazi paraphernalia but has since stopped, and now collects American flags “by the dozen.”
He said he met Galvin about six months before Galvin's death. “He was interested in my ideas.”
However, while he had wanted to be friends with Galvin, Cox said he believed Galvin had stolen a new cell phone and tablet from him during a gathering of friends. Later, when he confronted Galvin about it, Galvin said he would pay him for the items, not admitting to or denying taking them.
Tension between the men escalated when Galvin never paid Cox. In one incident, Cox and his girlfriend were driving through town and saw Galvin. They pulled over to talk to him and Cox said Galvin approached the car aggressively, so Cox brandished a handgun at him.
Two nights before Galvin's death, as Cox was walking through town at night, he said Galvin came up on him from the shadows. Cox said he raised his fist to defend himself, Galvin ran backwards and said he would pay him.
On the day of Galvin's shooting, Cox was at a home on Maple Street where his girlfriend lived when he encountered Mount, who was there talking to the girlfriend's uncle. Cox said he had a stern talk with Mount about reports that Mount had assaulted his own girlfriend.
“I was the aggressor in that conversation,” said Cox, who explained that he had a large Maglite flashlight in his hand during his encounter with Mount.
Within an hour, when Cox went to see friends, he was told his name was coming over the scanner and police were looking for him. He said he didn't know at that point that Galvin had been shot.
When Cox heard about the incident he said he told his girlfriend, “I think Billy just shot T-Bone for me,” which he said screwed up my life.
Cox said he did not help Mount kill Galvin although he felt 1 percent responsible for Galvin's death.
During cross examination, Sullivan asked Cox if he remembered telling the detective that Mount had called him and stated, “I seen T-Bone. I got him,” just after the detective informed Cox that Galvin had named him as being responsible for the attack on him.
Cox said he didn't remember saying it, and when Sullivan asked if he was trying to shift the blame, he said, “Maybe.”
He also went on to say that anything he said in that first interview with Peterson was either a lie or mistaken statements because he was afraid of being implicated.
Cox said he didn't know if Mount committed the shooting, and when asked if he had anything to do with pulling the trigger, Cox said no.
Sullivan also worked to establish that Cox was trying to bring Mount up as a suspect, having written his name in water on the table in the interview room, and slamming his hand down on the table next to the writing.
Cox acknowledged that part of the interview occurred before he heard Galvin was dead.
“So even before Peterson walked into the interview, you were trying to blame Billy Mount?” Sullivan asked.
“No, I wasn't,” Cox said.
Lerman countered by asking him what he had been trying to do at that point in the interview. Cox replied that, at that time, he didn't know who was responsible.
The trial is expected to continue until late in August.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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