Attorneys for Brian Delen, the food delivery driver who fatally shot a trans woman in the parking lot of her Bel Air apartment community last year, said he tried to help her after she was struck by a bullet in the abdomen.

Meghan Lewis pursued Delen while he was driving, his attorneys said, and then held him in a headlock. After Lewis was struck and fell to the ground, Delen brought his medical kit to the front seat, defense attorneys said.

A witness called by the prosecution, however, said that was not what happened.

Harry Robinson, who lives on the same block, told jurors Wednesday that he saw Delen on the night of the shooting. Robinson said there was no argument. He testified that he saw Delen open the driver’s side door, lean out and shoot Lewis.

The testimony Thursday in a Harford County courtroom focused on forensic experts who questioned Delen’s claim that he shot Lewis in self-defense.

Delen, 48, of Bel Air, is charged with first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault and use of firearm in the killing of Lewis.

An advocate for LGBTQ rights, Lewis was known in the community for her love of the Grateful Dead and for being a social butterfly. Two days before she died, she hosted a Christmas dinner party for queer people who had no family or home to go to for the holidays.

According to charging documents, Delen and Lewis got into an argument on Dec. 27, 2023 after Delen, on a food delivery run, addressed her as “Sir.” Authorities said Delen began to drive off and she followed him, leading to the shooting.

Attorneys for Delen said he acted out of fear and in self-defense. Witnesses brought by prosecutors, however, say they did not hear any altercation.

Rosanna Drake, an assistant medical examiner and expert in forensic pathology at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, said Lewis was struck in her left abdomen and that the bullet ended in her right thigh. The stippling — that is, marks on Lewis’ torso from the unburnt powder when the bullet hit the skin — showed it was not a contact wound.

Nails clippings from Lewis’ right and left hands were tested for the presence of DNA.

Leslie Mounkes, a forensic scientist with the Maryland State Police, said she only detected Lewis’ DNA, meaning either Lewis did not interact with Delen long enough to have his traces left on her or environment conditions — such as clothing or the rain — washed them away.

Sam Vivino, a detective corporal with the Bel Air Police Department, told the jury he interviewed Robinson on Dec. 29, two days after Lewis’ death. He went onto the balcony that provided a view of the street, including where Delen had parked his car.

He also told jurors that all of the containers in the medical kit were unopened. There were also no empty packages or trash in the kit.

Vivino testified that Delen had a loaded semi-automatic pistol, two magazines, a folding knife and two magazines in his car the night Lewis died.

Delen’s attorneys previously asked the judge to exclude evidence that Delen had at least four Glock magazines, four knives, six boxes of ammunition and slingshots in his car the night Lewis was shot.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Rosanna Drake’s surname.