A judge refused to hold rap star Cassidy on a first-degree murder charge yesterday and instead ordered the 23-year-old to stand trial on a charge of third-degree murder in an April shooting outside his Cedarbrook home.
About two dozen family members and supporters of Cassidy – whose real name is Barry Reese – cheered and applauded Municipal Court Judge Marsha Neifield’s decision.Assistant District Attorney Deborah Watson-Stokes said she would appeal the ruling to a Common Pleas Court judge.
A conviction of first-degree murder carries a sentence of life in prison without parole or the death penalty. A conviction of third-degree murder yields a maximum 20 to 40 years in prison.
Watson-Stokes said ballistics evidence shows that Cassidy and his associates repeatedly fired at least four guns on April 15 and “ambushed” the victims.
Desmond Hawkins, 22, also of Cedarbrook, was shot in the back as he sat in a van in the alley behind Cassidy’s home. He died at Albert Einstein Medical Center. Two of Hawkins’ associates survived injuries: Daniel Irvin, 22, was shot in the stomach and arm, and Bobby Hoyle, 21, was shot in the thigh.
“Ballistics evidence shows that the young men in the van were fired on at least 29 to 30 times,” Watson-Stokes told the judge. “There were four guys positioned at various places in the alley – that shows premeditation.”
Cassidy, she said, planned the attack and instructed the victims to drive behind his home. Detectives found 79 unfired cartridges of various caliber and manufacture inside Cassidy’s home, Watson-Stokes said.
However, defense attorney Fortunato Perri Jr. has said that Hoyle and Hawkins were the aggressors.
“There now is clear evidence that there are at least 12 shots fired” from the van, Perri told Neifield. “This is not a case of murder at all.”
Perri said his client’s associates returned fire after being fired upon.
Last month, during the first portion of the two-part preliminary hearing before Neifield, a witness testified that earlier that night Cassidy broke up a fight between two men. One was an associate of Hawkins’, and the other an associate of Cassidy’s.
Hoyle testified last month that Hawkins was attempting to make peace when he went to Cassidy’s home.
During that July hearing, a key prosecution witness dramatically changed his testimony. Joseph Newkirk initially told detectives he was with Cassidy and saw him fire a weapon. But on the witness stand, Newkirk testified that his signed statement was a lie and that detectives told him what to say.
Neifield ordered that Cassidy be arraigned Sept. 7 on the third-degree murder charge, two counts of attempted murder, and related crimes.
Cassidy has been jailed without bail since he surrendered to police on June 17. Neifield set bail yesterday at $2.9 million but ruled that Cassidy could not post bail until Sept. 6 in order for prosecutors to appeal her ruling on the murder charge.
Cassidy, who also faces a pending marijuana possession charge, was adjudicated delinquent in Family Court at age 17 for a sexual assault.
Cassidy’s new album, I’m a Hustla, was released in June, 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.