Man testifies he saw shooting of 12-year-old, then is observed texting on witness stand
PATERSON, N.J. _ A Paterson man told jurors on Tuesday that he saw two young men open fire at a van two years ago and that he saw a bleeding 12-year-old Genesis Rincon on the ground when the shooting stopped.
Caurie Swinger's testimony in Superior Court in Paterson took an unexpected turn, however, when Passaic County sheriff's officers saw him texting on his phone while he was on the witness stand. The testimony was interrupted after officers notified Judge Scott Bennion, who then held a hearing on whether Swinger's cellular conversation could affect the admissibility of his testimony.
The judge later ruled that defense attorneys should be allowed to cross-examine Swinger about his texting on the witness stand.
Before the interruption, Swinger had testified that he saw Jhymiere Moore and Jeffrey Ellerbee of Paterson open fire at a van that had pulled up on a street where they were hanging out. A third alleged accomplice, Marshae Anthony of Paterson, gave them the handguns, Swinger said.
Moore and Ellerbee are on trial on charges of murder and criminal weapons possession in the girl's fatal shooting on July 5, 2014. Anthony is charged with weapons offenses.
Police said Genesis was shot once in the head and died from her injuries. She was not the target of the shooting but rather a victim in an ongoing violent feud between rival gangs from different parts of the city.
Swinger testified that Moore and Ellerbee fired about eight shots at the van, and that there was no one else who was shooting. He said Moore, Ellerbee and Anthony then fled.
Swinger said he recognized all three men because he had known them for years before the shooting.
_The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)
