Goetz Doesn’t Take Stand as Defense Rests Its Case

NEW YORK — The defense rested Tuesday in the attempted murder trial of Bernhard H. Goetz without calling the man who shot four young men in a New York City subway.

The 10th and final witness, Detective Charles Penelton, testified that Troy Canty, one of Goetz’s victims, was in St. Vincent’s Hospital for treatment of the gunshot wound Goetz inflicted when Canty told him why he tried to panhandle money from Goetz.

“We went over and stood around the white guy,” Penelton quoted Canty as saying.

“All of you?” Penelton recalled asking.

“Yes, all of us,” he said Canty replied.

Feared Robbery

That testimony is important because Goetz contends that he was surrounded by the four and was about to be robbed when he shot them on Dec. 22, 1984.

After the testimony, defense attorney Barry Slotnick stood and said: “The defense rests.”

The prosecution, which called 30 witnesses, will have two rebuttal witnesses take the stand Friday after a two-day break. Summations are to begin next Tuesday, with the case expected to go to the jury Wednesday.

Goetz, a 39-year-old self-employed electronics technician, is charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and weapons violations in the shooting of Canty, Barry Allen, Darrell Cabey and James Ramseur.

Canty, the only one to testify fully, said he was just panhandling money to play video machines that he and his friends intended to burglarize.

Penelton said he asked Canty why he had chosen to approach Goetz.

“The guy looked soft,” the detective said Canty explained. “You mean gay?” Penelton said he asked Canty, and Canty replied: “No, I said soft.”

Asked to ‘Borrow $5’

Under cross-examination by Assistant Dist. Atty. Gregory Waples, Penelton said Canty told him he had asked Goetz if he could “borrow $5.”

“He didn’t say anything about robbing him though, did he?” Waples asked.

“No, not to me,” Penelton said. The witness acknowledged that during the interview a heavily drugged Canty was drowsy and nodded off to sleep several times.