But their testimony also suggested that Panas, 21, and his friends were not part of the group assaulting Tepper but - as Panas' friends testified - a group of local young people who heard the melee on Elkhart and went to investigate.
Panas' friends said they were drinking and talking on the front steps of a catering hall on Thompson near Indiana Avenue when they heard the noise from Elkhart.
According to testimony, about 20 guests were at Tepper's house that night for a baby shower for his daughter Ashley.
Between 10:30 and 11 p.m., one of Tepper's guests went outside and got into an argument with a neighbor that quickly became a fistfight involving a group of neighborhood teens and young people.
Panas, witnesses said, had been drinking with friends outside the catering hall and they walked over to investigate.
They said Panas got into a fight that ended when Tepper, who also had been drinking, came out of his house with his personal semiautomatic pistol and ordered the group to back up.
When Panas yelled out a dare that Tepper would not shoot, the off-duty officer pulled the trigger and shot Panas in the chest.
Felicia Tepper and Seddon also gave a different account of the shooting. Both testified that when Tepper fired his pistol, he was in front of his house, facing Edgemont. Panas' friends - and blood and bullet casings found by police - put Panas with his back to the fence surrounding the Stokley Playground on the other side of Elkhart from Tepper's rowhouse.
Resolving the contradictions in testimony will fall to the jury of eight women and four men, who are expected to begin deliberations Tuesday afternoon after the three-day Presidents' Day weekend.
The testimony by Felicia Tepper seemed to upset her father as he sat at the defense table with lawyer Fortunato "Fred" Perri Jr.
Tepper's wife, Sheila, began quietly crying when her daughter broke down while being questioned by Assistant District Attorney Erin Boyle.
Neither witness could identify the people who assaulted Tepper.
Seddon estimated the crowd that jumped Tepper at "seven to eight people" but Felicia Tepper said there were "at least 20" and "they were punching him a lot."
Although both said they saw blood on Tepper's face, police said the former officer did not need medical care.
Both also testified that Tepper showed his badge and identified himself as an officer before the crowd attacked.
Panas' friends testified that Tepper never identified himself before shooting.
Contact staff writer Joseph A. Slobodzian at 215-854-2985, jslobodzian@phillynews.com, or @joeslobo on Twitter.
