Seven months after Dontee Stokes fired three bullets into a Roman Catholic priest, the two men came face to face in a Baltimore courtroom yesterday. For several tense minutes, Stokes stared intently at the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell on the witness stand, waiting to hear his side of the story.

But it never came. Blackwell, severely hobbled by the shooting and facing allegations that he sexually abused Stokes more than a decade ago, pleaded the Fifth Amendment - he declined to answer questions on the grounds it may incriminate him. He then slowly limped out of the hushed, packed courtroom, making no contact with Stokes.

"He never looked at me," said Stokes, 26, who is on trial in Baltimore Circuit Court on attempted murder and other charges related to shooting Blackwell on May 13. "I wanted to see if he would convict himself."

Stokes claims he shot the priest at close range on a Reservoir Hill street because Blackwell refused to apologize for allegedly raping him. Yesterday was day two of the trial, which has attracted widespread attention because of the sex scandal surrounding the Catholic church.

Jurors got to hear yesterday the first detailed public account of Stokes' confession to detectives in the hours after the shooting. In the account, Stokes described firing a silver-colored, .357-caliber Magnum revolver at Blackwell moments after asking him to "account for his sins that he had done toward me."

"I wanted to confront him and ask him, you know, if he was going to do anything, you know, to resolve the issue," according to a transcript of the statement, obtained yesterday by The Sun.

Stokes' attorney, Warren A. Brown, told the jury that the crime was driven by a mental disorder Stokes had been suffering because of the alleged abuse. Brown has vehemently argued that Stokes should not go to prison.

Although Blackwell does not face any charges, he has retained a lawyer, Kenneth W. Ravenell, who closely escorted the priest to the witness stand yesterday and - in a very unusual courtroom maneuver - pulled up a chair and sat next to him.

Ravenell argued that Blackwell should not be compelled to testify because he is being investigated concerning Stokes' allegations of abuse. The state and the defense protested.

Prosecutor Sylvester Cox said he wanted to ask Blackwell questions about the night he was shot. Brown said he was planning to ask Blackwell about the alleged abuse.

Judge John N. Prevas agreed with Ravenell, saying the use of the Fifth Amendment appears to be proper in light of a pending investigation into Stokes' claims about Blackwell.

Stokes' attorney said Blackwell's decision to remain silent could play in Stokes' favor.

"I wanted the jury to see how he refused to testify. What does he have to hide?" Brown said after the trial ended for the day. "We're asking him about him being shot. Why wouldn't he want to tell us about that? The shooting might incriminate him?"

Brown said Stokes and Blackwell are oddly connected.

"They have a bond, a weird bond," Brown said during a recess yesterday.

Stokes is expected to testify today, as well as Cardinal William H. Keeler. The cardinal removed Blackwell from the church for 90 days in 1993 after Stokes' allegations surfaced, but he reinstated the priest after an outpouring of vocal support from parishioners.

Stokes' statement to police Detective Russell Robar that was taken hours after the shooting was introduced yesterday.

Stokes said he drove by Blackwell's house about 6 p.m. and called the priest to his car. At the time, Blackwell was preparing to take his brother to the airport.

"Um, don't remember word for word, but um, I believe that I asked him when he was going to make an account for his sins that he had done toward me," Stokes said in the statement.

Stokes told Robar that he had been sexually abused by Blackwell years before, that he had reported the crime to police but that nothing was done about it.

"So I wanted to confront him, and ask him, you know, if he was going to do anything, you know, to resolve the issue," Stokes said.

Robar asked Blackwell's response.

"He spoke to me as if he didn't know who I was ... you know, he avoided the question, and pretty much was saying, 'Well, ah, sir, what are you waiting here for?' ... He said that in a harsh tone."

Stokes said he asked again for an apology and got no response from Blackwell. Then, he said: "I reached in the bag and grabbed the firearm."

Stokes said he fired three times and saw Blackwell fall, but he had difficulty describing how he felt about having shot someone.

"I felt like that ... feeling you are not in your body, you can actually see yourself. It's wrong what you are doing but ... . After I fired, I drove off. I didn't know what to do, so I just went to pick up my girlfriend for lunch."

His girlfriend, Tiffani Taft, testified yesterday that Stokes immediately confessed to her.

Trial excerpts

Excerpts from a statement Dontee Stokes made to Baltimore police Detective Russell Robar on May 14, several hours after Stokes shot the Rev. Maurice Blackwell on a residential street.

Stokes: And I stopped and I drove around the corner, you know, and came back around.

Robar: OK, when you came back around, what did you do? Did you engage in conversation?

Stokes: I stopped and engaged in conversation with Father Blackwell.

Robar: What was that conversation about and what was the tone and what was said, if you remember some of the conversation?

Stokes: Um, don't remember word for word, but um, I believe that I asked him when he was going to make an account for his sins that he had done toward me.

Robar: OK, let's briefly stop right there. ... Talking about "your sins," what do you mean?

Stokes: Abuse, sexual abuse.

Later in the interview

Robar: So, let's get back now: You are here, you see him, and you are trying to get some closure.

Stokes: And in that light of that I wanted to talk to him, and I figured maybe, you know, ask him. ... Sometimes people don't speak up unless confronted.

Robar: That's true.

Stokes: So I wanted to confront him, and ask him, you know, if he was going to do anything, you know, to resolve the issue.

Robar: And what was his basic response?

Stokes: His basic response was ... he spoke to me as if he didn't know who I was ... you know, he avoided the question, and pretty much was saying, "Well, ah, sir, what are you waiting here for?" ... He said that in a harsh tone, like, I really can't recall his words.

Robar: And you became, what were you feeling then?

Stokes: Ah, I really can't explain what I felt at the moment, except for I was angry that he was ignoring me and had the nerve to say that, to look at me as if he didn't know me. ... I know that he knew me.