Though David Steed had large amounts of methamphetamine in his system and was struck by a vehicle, he died from gunshot wounds and not the drug, a forensic pathologist testified Thursday.

Dr. Kelly Arthur, an expert in pathology and forensic pathology, said that either of Steed’s two gunshot wounds would have been fatal by itself and meth wasn’t a contributing factor in the 43-year-old’s death. Though David Steed suffered external injuries to his head, chest, back, had fractured collar bones and right femur, they didn’t bleed out much, which points to a significant blood pressure drop beforehand.

David Steed was allegedly shot and killed Dec. 24, 2007, by then-22-year-old Thomas Dowdy as the two argued over stolen firewood. After hearing gunshots, David Steed’s 18-year-old son, Evan Steed, drove a pickup truck that was parked across the street through a fence and struck both men. Evan Steed fled the scene to his uncle’s home after hitting the house and kept quiet about the night’s events for a few hours because he was scared he’d be the one to get in trouble, he testified.

In the first murder trial a Fortuna resident has faced in more than 15 years, Deputy District Attorney Ben McLaughlin argued David Steed was unarmed and shot in the back while leaving Dowdy’s yard. Humboldt County Public Defender Blair Angus argued it’s a case of justifiable self-defense, in which Dowdy was protecting his girlfriend, her 2-year-old daughter and himself after being threatened.

Arthur testified that one bullet went through David Steed’s left elbow, then through the inside part of his elbow and fragmented into his chest. The second bullet, but not necessarily in that order, went through David Steed’s right mid-back and through his chest, she said. The distance he was shot from was unable to be determined, Arthur said.

David Steed suffered multiple internal injuries from what was dubbed gunshot wound No. 1, Arthur testified, including a pulpified diaphragm, stomach lining and lung, an injured ascending colon and small intestines.

“There was not one single path of the bullet,” Arthur testified, which is why there was so much damage. Gunshot wound No. 1 was fatal, as 1 1/2 liters of blood were in David Steed’s left chest cavity. He also had fragments of intestine and other organs protruding through his wounds, Arthur said, which may have been exacerbated by being hit and dragged by the pickup truck.

District Attorney Investigator Michael Losey testified that he could tell Evan Steed wasn’t being truthful about the night’s events during the first interview with himself and a Fortuna Police Department sergeant. The second interview, “he was still in a state of shock,” Losey said, but he’d noticed a difference in the lack of issues that would have made him think Evan Steed was being deceptive.

Though the second interview was tape recorded, Losey said, the quality of the tape was “extremely poor.”

Judge Dale Reinholtsen said the trial should be done on or before July 25, and that the jury may start deliberations the week of July 21.