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Receipt shows PBSO Sgt. bought flowers from Seth Adams before fatal shooting

Posted at 4:52 PM, Mar 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-01 18:56:02-05

David Adams says his younger brother Seth, was "his best friend."

Sister-in-law Raina, called him "easygoing, pretty funny and super caring."

Both said 24 year old Seth was willing to help anyone who needed it.

It was a tough day on the witness stand for both David and Raina, with many tears shed along the memories.

Raina and David were there to testify about the night Seth Adams was shot and killed by Palm Beach County Sergeant Michael Custer, May 16, 2012. Their parents are suing Custer, accusing him of excessive and unjustified force.

David was at the computer, Raina watching TV when Raina says she heard what sounded like a "pop pop pop," that night, around 11:30 PM. Seconds later, she says her phone rang. Seth called, and she he'd been shot. Because he sounded so dramatic, Raina said she thought he was kidding and put him on speaker phone.

It was then David's brother heard Seth's voice outside, and knew this was no joke. It was then Seth said, "he'd been shot by a cop."

Both David and Raina testified that they ran towards Seth, and ran right into several police officers in tactical gear. Holding guns, the officers asked them to get to the ground. David and Raina said there were asked multiple times, if there were any weapons, or anyone else, on the One Stop Garden Shop property.

David told the jury that between those questions, he begged officers to go help his brother "who is back there bleeding." David said when he was running for medical help he had passed Seth "bloody and breathing."

David testified that it "didn't seem like they (the officers) cared, because there was no sense of urgency."

The officers were there, at the One Stop Garden shop, responding to a call for help from their fellow officer, Sergeant Michael Custer. Custer claims he shot Adams four times, after the two got into an altercation.

Custer had been parked in the garden shop parking lot, in plainclothes and an unmarked car, for undercover surveillance. He claims Adams drove into the parking lot sometime after 11 and immediately began screaming at him to leave. Custer claims Adams choked him. Seconds later, Custer says he shot Adams because Adams failed to listen to commands and reached into his truck for what Custer thought was a weapon.

David and Raina testified that Seth had confronted people on the private property before, but had never been aggressive.

The defense argued that Seth had been drinking that nigh, and the couple had not been with Seth every time he confronted someone.

Attorneys for the Adams say Custer's version of events is untrue. They also claim Custer knew Seth Adams lived on the property, though Custer claims he didn't know Adams worked at the nursery when they met that night in May 2012.

According to our partners at the Palm Beach Post, a receipt shows Custer purchased plants from Seth Adams weeks before the fatal shooting.