LOWELL – Under immunity for his involvement in the death of Tyrone Phet, the prosecution’s key witness took the stand in Middlesex Superior Court, implicating the Phan brothers – Billy, Billoeum and Channa – as the architects behind the slaying of 22-year-old Lowell. resident and former Chelmsford High football star.

Abdulai Maranda testified for nearly five hours during the brothers’ murder trial Thursday, claiming he followed orders when he drove separately to a location near the shooting scene to serve as a lookout and potential getaway driver .

Under cross-examination by Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Daniel Harren, Maranda testified that on the night of September 13, 2020, he was contacted by Channa Phan and asked to come to Billy Phan’s home on Wannalancit Street. Maranda, who said he was a lower-level gang member, did not question the request but asked if he had to bring a gun.

When Harren asked why he asked about bringing a gun, Maranda replied, “Because that’s the life we ​​live.”

Maranda testified that upon arriving at Billy Phan’s home, where Channa and Billoeum Phan were also present, he saw two guns in the kitchen. Billy Phan, who Maranda claimed was the head of the street gang, identified by authorities as the Outlaws, instructed Maranda to drive his car to a location on Middlesex Street and wait. Maranda said he should honk if he sees a police cruiser, serve as backup or act as a getaway driver if needed.

Maranda said he knew a shooting was imminent, even though it was never explicitly mentioned.

Maranda testified that the three brothers then got into Channa Phan’s SUV, a 2014 Honda Pilot, while he got into his Infiniti and drove off. Surveillance video and data recovered from the vehicles presented at trial indicated that around 12:40 a.m. on September 14, 2020, they drove to the area of ​​Spring Avenue, including the Pilot, who parked in the 80 block of Arlene Road.

Maranda then sat and waited, eventually hearing the shots ring out from over a fence where he was positioned. Maranda recounted how police cruisers began flooding the area.

As Lowell Police Officer Jonathan Proulx testified during the first week of the trialit was shortly after 1 a.m. when he discovered Phet’s lifeless, bullet-riddled body inside a blue Honda Civic parked in a small parking lot outside his home at 50 Spring Ave. Phet’s pet German shepherd sat next to him in the front passenger seat, unharmed. by gunfire.

Trooper David Hughes, of the State Police Firearms Identification Section, testified Wednesday that he recovered 21 spent casings from the shooting scene. Ten of them were 10 mm shells, and 11 were .40 caliber shells. The firearms used in the incident have not been recovered.

Phet was hit by eight bullets, which hit his arms, chest and head.

Police obtained surveillance video showing an SUV pulling into a parking lot off Arlene Road about 22 minutes before the shooting. Two men are seen getting out of the SUV and walking towards the scene of the shooting. Around the time of the shooting, the SUV’s headlights come on, and moments later, two men run back to the vehicle from the direction of Spring Avenue. The SUV then leaves the area.

Maranda testified that he stayed at the scene for a while to make sure the Phan brothers escaped before deciding to leave. He told Harren from the stand that he was worried about being pulled over by the police, which eventually happened. When questioned by the officer during the stop, Maranda claimed he was leaving a friend’s house. The cops searched him and his car before you let him go. However, a few days later, his car was seized by the authorities.

Maranda testified that she informed Channa Phan of the situation. Channa advised him to get in touch with their lawyer. Maranda testified that he then received a subpoena to appear before the grand jury. After informing Channa Phan, she was again advised to contact their lawyer.

According to his account Thursday, Maranda said he met Billy Phan at Lowell Heritage State Park in Pawtucketville in October 2020, the day before he testified.

“He explained to me the worst-case scenarios of the citation because it’s a capital crime,” Maranda said. “He expressed to me that I am practically (exceptional). It gave me some options.”

Maranda testified that the options discussed were to commit perjury to protect the brothers from any charges, to run or to “go in there and try to get out,” Maranda said. Maranda claimed that Billy Phan offered him $100,000 to pursue the third option, with an additional promise of $50,000 for Maranda’s mother.

Maranda testified that his original goal was to go along with the plan and lie to investigators. However, he eventually began to tell the truth. When Harren asked why he changed his mind, Maranda said, “There’s no way I’m lying about it.”

Harren asked Maranda about the financial assistance he received to testify before the grand jury and during the trial, which included paid travel and hotel accommodations.

Following Harren’s direct examination, Maranda faced intense scrutiny from defense attorneys representing the Phan brothers. Rosemary Scapicchio for Channa Phan, Steven Rappaport for Billy Phan, and James McCall for Billoeum Phan each, in turn, peppered Maranda with questions, starting with Scapicchio.

Scapicchio fired off quick questions, starting with Maranda’s earlier statement about not wanting to reveal her friends.

“You knew you weren’t going to jail, right?” Scapicchio said. “You get a free pass for that, right? … If you wanted to help your friends, you could have said, ‘I did it,’ but you didn’t want to help your friends, you wanted to help yourself, right?”

Scapicchio disputed Maranda’s claim to be close friends, even best friends, with Channa Phan, who allegedly invited him to the gang while Maranda was incarcerated in 2016. Scapicchio pointed out that Maranda could not answer basic questions about Channa Phan. , such as his parents’ names, whether he had a wife, his date of birth, or the names of any of his many brothers and cousins ​​other than Billy and Billoeum.

Rappaport also focused on Maranda’s unfamiliarity with Billy and Billoeum in particular, pressing him during cross-examination with, “You really didn’t know any of these individuals before that night, did you?

All three attorneys also focused on discrepancies between Maranda’s grand jury testimony and his statements Thursday, noting that his stories continue to change, including which conversations he had with which Phan brother and where he parked in the time of the shooting.

The lawyers also pointed out that prosecutors and police spent several hours meeting with Maranda before the grand jury. Rappaport alleged that during those meetings, information about the case was forced on Maranda, who he then repeated to the grand jury.

Authorities claimed Phet’s killing was due to his status as an “associate” of a rival gang with which he was feuding. On September 13, 2020, the day before Phet was killed, someone believed to be a member of a rival gang fired shots into a home at 478 Wilder St., which authorities say is known to be connected of outlaws.

Rappaport suggested during cross-examination that Maranda only knew about the feud between the two gangs because authorities tipped him off. When asked during the grand jury how he knew the shooting was gang-related, Maranda replied, “because you told me,” as Rappaport noted in the grand jury minutes.

Lawyers also took issue with Maranda’s immunity, noting that he is not only immune from prosecution for Phet’s murder, but also for other crimes, including those involving drugs and violence.

“And you’ve never served anything other than a house sentence, have you?” Rappaport asked Maranda at one point. “You managed, didn’t you, to avoid imprisonment in very serious cases…”.

Before Maranda could answer, Harren objected to the question, effectively ending that inquiry.

Throughout his hours on the stand, Maranda offered short and modest answers, often taking a long time to answer and frequently asking for repeat questions. At one point, he admitted to feeling nervous during Scapacchio’s cross-examination.

“Yes, it’s a murder trial,” Maranda told the lawyer. “I’m nervous… the way you talk is fast. I’m just trying to answer questions the right way and tell the truth.”

Perhaps the most controversial moment during Maranda’s hours on the stand came at the very end of his time there. Scapicchio asked, “Do you agree that the truth remains the same, yes or no?” Maranda tried to give a detailed answer, but Scapicchio cut her off aggressively, demanding a yes or no answer.

“If you tell the truth, it’s always the same, it’s not different all the time, because there is a truth, right?” she asked.

“Since I’ve been here,” Maranda replied, “I’ve told the truth and I have no reason to lie and I’ve been 100 percent honest, I have no reason to lie about anything.”

Scapicchio repeated his question, to which Maranda said, “The truth is the truth.”

“Exactly, the truth is the truth,” Scapicchio said. “So when you said on direct examination that you had immunity, all the stories you told, no one told you they were going to take away your immunity, right?”

Harren again successfully objected to cross-examination, ending this line of inquiry.

Maranda, who testified that he is a former gang member who has no longer been affiliated with the gang since the arrest of the Phan brothers, was escorted by law enforcement officers as he moved around the courthouse. Members of Phet’s and the Phan brothers’ families were present in the courtroom gallery throughout the trial.

In addition to the first-degree murder charges, which carry life in prison without parole, the Phan brothers are also charged with illegal possession of ammunition. Billy Phan faces an additional charge of witness intimidation.

Phet, a 2016 graduate of Chelmsford High School, captained the football team his senior year. Phet, who played the running back position, was a Sun All-Star in 2015.

Judge Kenneth Salinger told jurors Thursday that the trial is moving ahead of schedule, with the prosecution expected to finish presenting evidence as early as Tuesday. Salinger previously told jurors that the trial, including deliberations, could extend until Nov. 26.

The jury consists of eight men and eight women. Four of the 16 jurors will be selected at random to serve as alternate jurors, while the remaining 12 will deliberate. If any of those 12 jurors must be excused once deliberations have begun, alternates will be available to take their place.

The trial is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Room 17 of the Cornelius F. Kiernan Judicial Center. The court will be closed Monday for Veterans Day.

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