An Otter Point man fought back tears as he testified in his neighbor’s trial Tuesday, describing a fight with his neighbor over a rifle that left him with a bullet in his torso.

Anthony Nelson, 55, took the stand in the trial of Paul Tregear on Tuesday and told jurors he noticed a man leaning against the side of his house holding a rifle when he went to his camper on May 7, 2022 .

Tregear faces charges of aggravated assault, discharging a firearm with intent to injure, maim or disfigure, possessing a firearm without a license and pointing a firearm at a person.

The Crown’s theory is that Tregear shot Nelson after the conflicts between the two families.

Nelson said he walked from the front door to his trailer, which was parked next to the house, and up the trailer steps. From the top step, he could see through the windows of the trailer and noticed a man leaning against the side of the house, holding a rifle pointed in his direction.

“I said, ‘Do I see that?’ ” he confessed.

Nelson said he briefly stepped away from the trailer’s window and looked back again to confirm what he was seeing. The man was wearing a hat and slung the rifle over his shoulder with his eyes on it in a ready position, he said.

“I said, ‘What the hell are you doing on my property with a gun and who are you?’ Nelson testified.

The man, whom Nelson did not yet recognize, asked Nelson if they had “an argument,” he said.

Nelson said he called his wife, who was inside their home, to call the police and tell them someone was in their yard with a gun.

When Nelson saw the man start walking toward the trailer and him, the gun in his waistband, Nelson went down the steps and around the trailer, he said.

Asked by Crown prosecutor Sofia Green to describe in detail what happened next, Nelson became emotional, forcing himself to calm down.

Nelson said he grabbed the barrel of the gun with his left hand and pushed it. The man moved back and then jammed the gun into his stomach, Nelson told the jury.

Nelson said he was still holding the barrel of the gun when he realized he was wounded.

He said she “started to unload on him” but was unable to get the gun away from him.

Nelson managed to get his right hand on the other end of the gun and “smashed him in the face with it,” he testified.

The man backed up and Nelson grabbed his gun, he said.

Nelson then asked what he was doing there and who he was, Nelson said.

“He said, ‘You want to hurt my Cindy (Hehn),'” Nelson said, referring to Tregear’s partner.

Nelson said he realized he was arguing with his neighbor.

He said the full extent of his pain hadn’t kicked in yet and he “had a job to do.”

Nelson said he believed his wife, who was still in their home, was also in danger and would do “whatever it takes to make this go away.”

When Tregear tried to leave, Nelson threw him to the ground and lay on top of him until his pain began to intensify and he realized he was exhausted, he said.

He went to the front steps with the rifle and collapsed, Nelson said.

He testified that he did not hear any gunshots, but heard his wife tell police on the phone that he had been shot.

He was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent surgery and had 18 inches of his small intestine removed, he said.

Nelson said he had two subsequent surgeries and the bullet remains in his body.

Cross-examination by Tregear’s lawyer, Neil Brooks, about Nelson’s past statements and the strength of his memory led to awkward exchanges, with Nelson raising his voice at times.

Brooks picked apart discrepancies between Nelson’s previous statements to police or under oath and his testimony Tuesday, such as whether his front door was locked.

“Who cares? The fact is your client came onto my property and shot me. That’s a fact,” Nelson said. “If I misinterpreted some words like beef or beef, I’m sorry.”

Brooks questioned Nelson about a possible fire ban in March 2022 when his son hosted a campfire on their property.

The planned fire led to a fire marshal visit to the Nelson property after a confrontation between Tregear’s partner and Nelson’s son over the proximity of the planned location to the Tregear property.

Brooks contrasted Nelson’s testimony Tuesday that there was no fire ban on the day of the bonfire with an earlier statement to police in which he said there was a ban.

Nelson said he doesn’t know why he said there was a ban, and if there had been, the fire chief would have told his son not to light the fire.

“Do you often say things you don’t know why you’re saying them?” Brooks asked.

“Come on, that’s not fair,” Nelson replied.

Raising his voice, Nelson said he didn’t know why we were “making a big deal about it today,” calling it irrelevant.

The exchange led to a warning from Judge Sharon Matthews to both men not to talk over each other.

Matthews told Nelson to answer the questions asked, even if he didn’t understand why they were being asked.

“That’s how it works in court. The lawyers ask the questions and the witnesses answer them,” she said.

Nelson is expected to continue on the stand Wednesday, followed by his wife.

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