MINNEAPOLIS — Emilie Clancy from St. Paul had never met Nicki Lenway, but Clancy sprung into action, pulling the bleeding victim into her vehicle and helping save Lenway's life after she was shot three times outside a supervised parenting center in April.
Lenway's ex-boyfriend, Tim Amacher, is on trial for aiding first-degree attempted murder -- an alleged plot to have his younger girlfriend and former taekwondo student kill Lenway -- so that Amacher could gain full custody of the son he and Lenway shared.
"All the sudden I heard 'bam, bam' on the other side of the street," Clancy is heard saying on police body camera video shown to the jury in the second full day of testimony in Amacher's trial.
Clancy was driving home and waiting in traffic when the shooting happened. Minutes after the shooting on the body camera video, she told Minneapolis Police Officer Peter Bacon that she honked her horn multiple times after she heard the gunshots and saw Lenway fall to the ground.
"I pulled through and said, 'Come here, come here, get in my car. And I put my jacket on her to stop the bleeding and we called 911," Clancy said.
Lenway was shot in the neck and could barely speak. Clancy testified that she heard Lenway say her name was Nicki and that the shooter was a woman.
Colleen Larson is charged with first-degree attempted murder and is scheduled to stand trial in January. She confessed to her role in the crime and told investigators that she and Amacher "discussed killing Lenway a week or two before the shooting," according to a court document filed by prosecutors.
It is unclear whether Larson will testify in the trial or if any portion of her confession can be used as evidence against Amacher.
During Monday's testimony, another eyewitness to the shooting, Megan Curran from Maple Grove, told the jury about how she saw a slender person wearing all-black run up to Lenway and open fire.
Curran had gotten to know Lenway because they dropped off and picked up their children at FamilyWise at the same time. Amacher was inside visiting with his and Lenway's 6-year-old son at the time of the shooting.
"I ran out of my car to Nicki to try to help her. I just kept telling her, 'It's going to be OK,' and, 'I love you.' Nicki was holding her neck and just looking at me and nodding when I told her its going to be OK," Curran said.
Lenway has since recovered from her gunshot wounds. The body camera video shown to the jury showed Lenway being loaded into an ambulance when Officer Bacon arrived. Bacon testified that he didn't realize she was an MPD employee.
In cross-examination, Amacher's attorney Larry Reed pointed out that witnesses gave varying descriptions of the shooter's appearance. And while questioning Officer Bacon, Reed insinuated through his questioning that it was a conflict of interest for MPD officers to work on the case since Lenway was employed by MPD as a crime scene investigator.
