FREEHOLD - All he wanted to do was buy some weed, John Curtin told a jury on Wednesday.

But he didn’t know the marijuana dealer and didn’t trust the dealer’s girlfriend, so he brought a gun to the transaction, Curtin testified.

And, when a struggle ensued after Curtin realized he’d been shorted by some 20 grams of marijuana, the gun fired, accidentally, three times, he said.

Curtin told the jury he didn’t realize until later, from a news article posted on Twitter, that the dealer, Evan Smutz, had been struck by the gunfire.

Fearing he would go to jail, Curtin hopped a train to New York, but while on board, he decided he wanted to surrender to police so he could explain to them what happened, he testified.

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen," the 20-year-old Keansburg man told the jury at his trial for Smutz’s murder. “It was an accident."

But prosecutors allege Curtin took a loaded gun to Smutz’s apartment in Keyport on Aug. 9, 2018, intending to rob the 20-year-old Keyport man, who suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen and back, both fatal.

More on this case:Alleged Keyport killer attacked school employee in 2017, prosecutor says

A key witness for the state, Anne Marie Palmiotto, the victim’s girlfriend, last week testified that Curtin pointed a gun at Smutz’s head in an attempt to rob him of his money and marijuana, and that he fired a shot that lodged in a wall of the apartment she shared with Smutz. Two more shots were fired during an ensuing struggle.

Curtin told the jury he knew Palmiotto from middle school and arranged through her to buy marijuana from Smutz. He said he didn’t trust Palmiotto and didn’t know Smutz, so he brought the gun to their apartment for the transaction.

“I’ve been beaten up and robbed before," Curtin told the jury. “I wanted to make sure nothing like that happened."

Smutz had offered to deliver the marijuana to Curtin, but Curtin said he didn’t want Smutz to know where he lived.

The deal was for him to buy 3 ounces of marijuana from Smutz for $600, but when he got to Smutz’s apartment and weighed the product, it was more than 20 grams short, Curtin testified.

Smutz and his girlfriend were not in the room when Curtin weighed the marijuana, he said. He already had placed the $600 on the coffee table, but when he realized the product was short, he took back $150 and placed the marijuana in his backpack, Curtin testified.

Then, when Smutz and Palmiotto came back into the living room, he explained to Smutz that the marijuana was short, so he took back some of the money, Curtin told the jury.

"He got kind of angry and told me he wanted the whole $600," Curtin testified. “We started arguing."

Meanwhile, Curtin said, Palmiotto picked up the remaining money from the coffee table, went to the door and locked it and stood in front of the door to prevent him from leaving.

“He (Smutz) said I wasn’t leaving until I paid the 600," Curtin said. “I told him I wasn’t paying the 600 because it was short."

Curtin offered that Smutz could refund his money, and he would return the weed, but Smutz wouldn’t have that and wanted the full $600, Curtin said.

“I was just trying to leave," Curtin said. “I pulled my shirt up and showed him the handle of my pistol."

With that, Smutz “kind of bum-rushed me," Curtin said. “He grabbed my arm, and a shot went off."

After that, “he tackled me to the ground, and we were kind of wrestling over the gun," Curtin testified.

Curtin said Smutz was on top of him, and at one point, Curtin said he briefly lost control of the gun.

“As I was trying to get it back, another shot went off," Curtin told the jury. “At some point, he got off me. He let me up, and I just ran right out of the house."

Curtin gave the jury the version of events while being questioned by his attorney, Carlos Diaz-Cobo.

"I just wanted to buy weed and leave," Curtin said.

But when it came to Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Michael Luciano’s turn to question the defendant, he pointed out that Curtin gave conflicting information to the jury and to police.

Luciano noted that Curtin had told the jury that Palmiotto stayed by the door during the struggle, but also said he thought she was hitting and kicking him during the melee.

Luciano, who is prosecuting Curtin along with Assistant Prosecutor Tara Wilson, asked Curtin why he didn’t just move Palmiotto away from the door and leave.

“Annie Palmiotto, 5-foot-1, all 90 pounds of her, she was preventing you from leaving that apartment?" Luciano said.

“I didn’t want to physically move her from the door," Curtin replied.

“I just didn’t want things to get physical," Curtin said. “That’s why I flashed the gun."

Noting that Smutz was shot in the abdomen and back, and that Curtin claimed Smutz was on top of him during the entire struggle, Luciano asked Curtin if Smutz ever changed his position. Curtin replied that he hadn’t and said he was able to get up and leave after Smutz rolled off of him.

“You also claim you never meant to pull the trigger, that it was an accident," Luciano said, adding it takes 11 pounds of pressure to fire the gun.

“Somebody obviously did," Curtin replied.

“There’s only two people around that gun," Luciano said. “You’re telling me Evan was the one who might have pulled the trigger?"

“Like I said, I don’t really know," Curtin replied. “We were fighting."

Curtin is on trial before Superior Court Judge Marc C. LeMieux. He is charged with murder, felony murder, armed robbery, possession of weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Attorneys are expected to deliver their summations to the jury Thursday.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues, unsolved mysteries and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com; 732-643-4202.