Several witnesses testified Wednesday that a Washington state man charged in a fatal shooting outside an Eldersburg bar last year had been acting strange throughout the night.
Jacob Brian Bircher, 25, is on trial for 18 charges including first-degree murder for the shooting July 13, 2012, outside the Harvest Inn, located in the 2000 block of Liberty Road.
Prosecutors say Bircher, who moved to Westminster three months before the shooting, fired 13 gunshots into a group standing outside the bar.
Killed in the shooting was 36-year-old David J. Garrett, of Sykesville, who was hit with several bullets. Gary Hale Jr., 26, also of Sykesville, survived a single gunshot wound to his right arm and needed surgery.
Shaun Burgess, the bartender working at Cheers Lounge the night of the shooting, located upstairs from the Harvest Inn, testified that Bircher "seemed out of it" and "didn't seem like he was all there."
Burgess said Bircher was very soft-spoken, but was giving other bar patrons "bad vibes."
Burgess observed Bircher throughout the night approaching different women, who seemed bothered by the interactions, he said.
Burgess also testified that at one point in the night, while outside, he saw Bircher talking to himself while smoking a cigarette.
Bircher was served a Yuengling draft beer and a Blue Moon draft beer, which he didn't finish, Burgess testified.
Patrick Martin, who went to the bar following a softball game, also testified Wednesday.
Martin said Bircher was aggravated and seemed unhappy with the way he was being treated.
According to Martin, Bircher made vulgar comments about Carroll County and Eldersburg to the group of people smoking outside the bar.
Martin said at that point he walked away to avoid conflict, and moments later he heard gunshots.
"It went from people just standing around to mayhem in five seconds," Martin said.
Melinda Thurston, of Sykesville, went to the Cheers Lounge that night to meet up with friends.
Thurston said she had a conversation with Bircher which was initially calm and friendly, but said she grew annoyed with him.
Bircher followed Thurston and her friend Kristen Remmers when the pair went to Thurston's car to drink alcohol they brought with them, she said.
Once at the car, the three drank from a bottle of whiskey, and that's when Bircher told the girls that he had killed his father and brother, Thurston said.
At that point Thurston said she thought he was "really weird" and she was annoyed with Bircher.
On Tuesday, Kristen Remmers also testified Bircher made that statement to the women.
Thurston said that she witnessed the shooting and at first thought they were fireworks.
"We saw him unloading," she said.
Thurston reported to police that Bircher was shooting aimlessly and said Wednesday that she didn't know if the gunfire was directed at anyone specifically.
Mary Boersig, of Salisbury, was outside when the shooting occurred and said she froze when she saw the gun.
Boersig testified that Bircher may have said hello to her earlier in the night, and that she probably laughed and walked away from him because she doesn't talk to strangers.
Trystin O'Brien, of Sykesville, said she saw Bircher the night of the shooting at the bar by himself and her group of friends was trying to figure out who he was and why he was at the local bar.
O'Brien didn't converse with Bircher, though she said her friends were trying to be friendly, and she remembers them asking him if he was a police officer. Bircher replied that he wasn't and seemed to get a little offended by the inquiry, O'Brien said.
Bircher told investigators that he felt like he was being picked on at the bar, according to court documents.
Testimony in the case will continue at 9 a.m. today at Carroll County Circuit Court.
