Wednesday's Internet Edition, March 10, 2010.

The trial of Christopher Shane Delaney, now 20, got underway in Roane Circuit Court Tuesday with the testimony of the youngest of the four suspects arrested.

Delaney was indicted on charges including robbery, grand larceny and assault related to the theft of $1,700 in cash from Harry and Burdell Burdette almost a year ago.

Three other co-defendants in the case have entered pleas and are serving their sentences. All are expected to testify.

Curtis Starcher, only 17 when the crime occurred, was the first witness to take the stand Tuesday afternoon. He was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs.

Now 18, Starcher said he and Delaney, Dakota Hart and Josh Husk had been at the Walton home of Hart’s mother for the three days prior to the robbery.

When asked by prosecutor Josh Downey what they had done those three days, Starcher responded, “I’ll be honest. We partied.”

Starcher said the four got a ride to Spencer and were at a friend’s apartment when they came up with an idea to commit a robbery.

He said they walked to Walmart and stole bandanas and gloves to cover their faces and fingerprints. They went to Front Street next, where Husk found a car with the keys left in the ignition.

He said Husk took the car and the others climbed inside.

Starcher said they went to his grandparents’ home on Liverpool Road to get his truck so they would not be driving a stolen vehicle.

He said the truck wouldn’t start, probably because a family member had done something to it to keep him from taking it.

Starcher said they planned the robbery while driving around in the stolen car. They arrived at the Burdette residence around 11 p.m.

He said they all knew the couple, each in their 70s, from their grandson and had been to the home previously.

When they arrived at the Burdettes’ home, he said everyone but Husk got out.

“Josh was supposed to be helping us but I guess he chickened out and stayed in the car,” Starcher testified.

He said the three went to the back of the house and cut the phone line before returning to the front and knocking on the door.

When Mrs. Burdette opened the door, Starcher said they asked to see her grandson, although they knew he wasn’t there.

When she told them that, they asked to use the telephone to call him.

When she returned with the telephone, he said Delaney kicked in the door, knocking her down.

Starcher said he was supposed to keep Mrs. Burdette on the floor while the others went through the house looking for money and drugs.

When Downey asked what kind, Starcher said, “Loritabs, Xanax, just any kind of pills.”

He said at one point she reached for the bandana covering his face and he shoved her away.

While Hart was in another part of the house, Starcher said Delaney entered the bedroom where Mr. Burdette was asleep.

Starcher said he went to the room a few minutes later and saw Delaney holding a box cutter while Mr. Burdette was telling him he had no money. Starcher said he saw a cut or two on the elderly man’s arm.

He said the robbery lasted five to seven minutes, and the four left with cash that police later said was around $1,700.

“We were all talking about how happy we were because we had so much money,” Starcher testified.

They used some of the money to buy food and marijuana.

He said they returned to Hart’s mother’s home in Walton, where three of them were arrested the next day. Husk had left by the time police arrived and was arrested later.

After most of the day was spent on jury selection, Starcher was the only witness to testify before Judge Tom Evans recessed the trial until Wednesday morning.

Downey and Lee Benford, one of two attorneys appointed to represent Delaney, made opening statements before testimony began. Benford told the jury, made up of two men and 11 women including an alternate, the couple had been robbed.

“We agree that three young men went into the Burdette residence and committed a very serious crime,” Benford said. “We don’t agree that one of them was Christopher Shane Delaney.”

He said the other three suspects, all facing the possibility of life in prison, had entered plea bargains to get reduced sentences. As part of those agreements, they were supposed to testify against Delaney.

When questioned by co-defense counsel Morgan Hayes, Starcher said he would be released from juvenile detention by age 21.

Hayes also pointed out inconsistencies in Starcher’s testimony and statements he gave police earlier.

In the statements, Starcher said Husk drove the four to Spencer, while in his testimony Tuesday he said it was Hart’s mother.

He said Tuesday that Delaney cut the Burdettes’ phone line, while in his statement, he said he did not know who it was.

The trial was scheduled to resume Wednesday.