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RICHARD RAEKEA New Port Richey man beat his victim, slit his throat and then cut off his fingers before burying him, a witness testifies.
NEW PORT RICHEY - For eight months Aaron Vineyard lived on the run. He took under-the-table jobs, jumped from state to state and did not call his family.
But when he heard Pasco County Detective Sharon Walborn had been trying to contact him, he called her. Vineyard, a 27-year-old concrete worker, testified Tuesday that he was not running from the police, but from Stephen Allen Anderson.
Prosecutors say Anderson murdered Steven "Crash" Manning, 30, formerly of Hudson. If convicted, Anderson, 37, of New Port Richey, faces the death penalty.
During the opening day of testimony in Anderson's trial, Vineyard said he saw the killing when he went with Anderson to a patch of woods near State Road 52 and Hays Road to check their hog traps on the evening of Oct. 7, 2001.
The two had been drinking beer, and after they drained the last can, Vineyard said, Anderson went to the store for more.
He returned with Manning, Vineyard said. The three knew each other though friends in Moon Lake. Vineyard said that for reasons unknown to him, Anderson hammered Manning on the head with a log. Manning took off running, and Anderson tackled and beat him.
"After (Anderson) knocked him out, he pulled out a knife and cut (Manning's) throat," Vineyard said. Anderson then walked toward Vineyard.
"He punched me and said if I told anyone he would kill me and my family," Vineyard added.
Security guards hired by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which owns the property, found Manning's body eight days later. He was buried facedown in a shallow grave. His fingers, which were individually tattooed with the letters "C-R-A-S-H" had been cut off.
Anderson allegedly showed off Manning's fingers and bragged about the slaying.
Vineyard said Anderson cut off the fingers to prevent investigators from finding any DNA evidence underneath the fingernails.
Anderson, who worked as a self-employed roofer, was arrested in July 2002 for the killing after Vineyard came forward.
Anderson's attorney, Terry Brocklehurst, questioned Vineyard's motive for going into hiding, suggesting he is guilty of Manning's slaying.
Pasco County sheriff's detectives implicated Manning, after his death, in the November 1998 slaying of Stephen DeShawn Risdon. According to investigators, Risdon, 28, had urinated on a tree in Hudson marked with the gang symbol for the West Pasco Crazy Crips.
Manning, who was close with the group, allegedly beat Risdon with a log and slit his throat for disrespecting the gang's tree.
Anderson's trial continues today.
- Richard Raeke covers courts in west Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6236, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6236. His e-mail address is rraeke@sptimes.com