After a key prosecution witness against rap star Cassidy dramatically changed his testimony yesterday, a judge said prosecutors in the performer's murder case could present additional preliminary hearing evidence next month.
Cassidy – whose real name is Barry Reese – is accused of opening fire on a van outside his Cedarbrook home on April 15, killing one man and wounding two others. The 23-year-old is jailed without bail.Assistant District Attorney Deborah Watson-Stokes told Municipal Court Judge Marsha Neifield that the victims were “ambushed” by Cassidy and his associates.
But witness Joseph Newkirk, who initially told detectives he was with Cassidy and saw him fire a weapon, testified yesterday that his statements were a lie.
In his signed statement to detectives in April, Newkirk said, “They just came up shooting. That's when Cassidy and [another man] started shooting back.”
“Did you say that to the detectives?” Watson-Stokes asked Newkirk yesterday.
“Yes. It's not true, though,” Newkirk replied. “I wasn't there when the shooting went.”
Newkirk said detectives were “badgering” him, threatened to arrest him, and told him what to say.
Under cross-examination from Cassidy's attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., Newkirk said that earlier that night Cassidy broke up a fight between two men. One was an associate of the victim, Desmond Hawkins, and the other an associate of Cassidy's.
Newkirk said that before the shooting, he overheard Hawkins, on a walkie-talkie, threaten to shoot Cassidy.
Hawkins, 22, was fatally shot in the back shortly afterward in Cassidy's driveway. He died at Albert Einstein Medical Center. Two of his associates survived: Daniel Irvin, 22, shot in the stomach and arm, and Bobby Hoyle, 21, shot in the thigh.
Hoyle testified yesterday that Hawkins was attempting to make peace when he went to Cassidy's home.
Cassidy opened the door with a gun in his hand, Hoyle said, and later directed them to drive up to the back of the house.
“We pulled up and shots rang out,” Hoyle testified. “I heard stuff hitting the van, and I felt the bullet pierce my leg.”
He testified that he and his friends were unarmed, and that he did not see who was firing.
Perri suggested that Hoyle was lying, and that police found fired cartridge casings in the victim's van. Perri said Hoyle and Hawkins were trying to ambush Cassidy's group.
Neifield ordered that the hearing resume Aug. 16, in order for prosecutors to fully analyze more than 100 pieces of ballistics evidence collected by police. Neifield also imposed a gag order barring attorneys from speaking publicly about the case.
Cassidy's new album, I'm a Hustla, was released last month, after his arrest. His first album, Split Personality, featured the hit single “Hotel,” recorded with R. Kelly.
Contact staff writer Jacqueline Soteropoulos at 215-854-4497 or jsoteropoulos@phillynews.com.