A bullet struck a fence to his right and another ricocheted over his head.

Bismarck Police Lt. Dan Donlin frantically scanned the south Bismarck mobile home to figure out where the shots were coming from. He yelled to nearby officers, but they didn't know either.

Donlin told his version of the shootout Wednesday in the third day of Brandon Keller's jury trial before South Central District Judge Donald Jorgensen. Donlin was positioned outside the mobile home where Keller, 19, of West Fargo, and Michael Sherman, 27, of Fargo had barricaded themselves.

Keller is accused of conspiring and attempting to kill law enforcement officers in connection with the August standoff. The trial is scheduled to go until Friday.

Tear gas was deployed and the intermittent gunfire coming from the mobile home became fierce.

Donlin noticed a flicker of movement through the bathroom window.

He used a lighted portion of the mobile home to sight in his gun then moved the cross hairs to the window. His finger was off the trigger.

A figure appeared and began breaking the bathroom window. Growling noises were distinguishable over the sound of glass breaking.

The figure disappeared for a few seconds. Then a head poked out, gasped air and retreated back into the darkness.

A long, black cylindrical object was thrust out the window. The apparent shotgun barrel - later determined to be a piece of Venetian blinds - was aimed at the ground and then swung toward Donlin's position.

Donlin took aim and fired a bullet over the top of the apparent gun barrel.

The center of the window lit up with muzzle flash. The person inside was firing back and now seemed to know his position, Donlin said.

When a white figure appeared in the window, Donlin fired again. The figure turned and Donlin fired a third time.

Donlin said more rounds came from the mobile home after his shots. The 14-hour standoff ended several hours later when the Fargo SWAT team went into the mobile home and found Sherman dead and Keller unconscious. It was later determined that Sherman died from a shot attributed to Donlin.

Donlin was one of several Bismarck police officers who testified for the state Wednesday.

Bismarck Police Lt. Bob Haas testified as to why they decided to deploy tear gas. The commander of the Bismarck SWAT team said communications had broken down, more gunshots were coming from inside the mobile home and Keller and Sherman were overheard by a negotiator saying they were going to shoot it out with police.

"Numerous, numerous rounds of gunfire," came from inside the mobile home immediately after tear gas was deployed, said Bismarck Police Officer Troy Schaner. Schaner fired the first round of tear gas, then had to find cover because of the "incredible amount" of bullets fired in his direction.

Donlin, Steve Lundin and Wally Keller told of how the standoff began. They were among the six SWAT team members who served a warrant for meth and paraphernalia.

The three men converged on a back bedroom where Sherman and Keller had barricaded themselves with 9-millimeter handguns. Lundin tried to kick open the locked bedroom door twice, but was unsuccessful. The second kick was followed by a barrage of gunfire from inside.

A bullet from the bedroom passed through Lundin's thigh, and he dropped to the floor. Lundin broke fingers as he pushed off something to belly crawl to safety.

Wally Keller fired two rounds and Donlin fired three as Lundin crawled to safety. The rest of the SWAT team followed Lundin out of the mobile home.

Wally Keller and SWAT team member Jeff Azure testified they also took gunfire while serving the warrant. Azure was struck in the lower back and Keller in the chest, but their protective gear prevented serious injuries.

The prosecution has about 16 witnesses left and the defense has three to four. The trial will resume at 8:45 a.m. today, and Jorgensen said it may go late.

(Reach reporter Mike Albrecht at 250-8261 or cops@ndonline.com.)