A childhood friend of the man who allegedly killed Mark Fisher ’06 in 2003 testified on Friday that he knew details of the murder shortly after it occurred, according to The New York Times.
The case is now on its second week at trial at Brooklyn state Supreme Court.
Albert Clearly, 21, the friend of one of the defendants, John Guica, 21, said he was told to remain silent when police came to question him.
“Keep asking for your attorney,” Cleary said Guica told him.
But on Friday, Cleary described to the court the party in Brooklyn where Fisher had last been seen. He said that Fisher had sat down on a table, irritating Guica, the resident of the house.
The New York Times also reported that Cleary said that near dawn, Guica led Fisher to Antonio Russo, 19, who was in possession of a gun. When Russo initially attacked, Fisher fought back.
But then Russo shot Fisher with a .22-caliber Ruger pistol, afterwards giving the gun back to Guica saying, “It’s done.”
Cleary said the next morning, Guica said to him in a panic, “I didn’t kill him; this isn’t going to fall on me.”
Prosecutors say that Guica and Russo were members of “G.M.” or “Ghetto Mafia,” a gang that required committing homicide in order to prove members’ level of commitment.
Cleary said that Guica showed him .22 Ruger a week prior to Fisher’s murder. He fired the gun into a pile of phone books in his closet, according to The New York Times.
Sam Gregory, the lawyer of Guica, told the court that Cleary had never mentioned Guica’s reaction when Fisher sat on the table during the party. He said that Cleary had told Russo where to find the gun.
Cleary denied this.
The New York Times reported that Gregory painted Cleary as a “Brooklyn tough guy” who tries to impress his friends, and knew more about Fisher’s murder than he was willing to admit to the court.
But Cleary said he had been unable to get into a bar the night of Fisher’s murder because he was underage and therefore went home when his mother called him on his cell phone.
Michael Fisher, Mark’s father, took the stand on Friday, describing to the court what it was like to make the trip to identify his son’s body at Kings County Hospital, The New York Times reported.
“I didn’t want to believe it was Mark,” he said, “but it was Mark.”
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