Youth’s recorded testimony shown in murder trial of Lynn gang member

SALEM – Jurors on Wednesday listened to a DVD recording of a 12-year-old youth’s statement to police where he states he saw Jose Cabrera fire the fatal gunshot in the death of a rival gang member on Halloween night 2008.Cabrera, 20, is on trial for shooting and killing Tony Pich, who was shot in the chest from a single bullet outside his home at 1-3 Olive St., in what prosecutors say was a gang-related incident.Pich, 22, was a member of the Avenue King Crips (AKC) gang while Cabrera allegedly belonged to a rival gang, the Deuce Boyz.Defense lawyer Jeffrey Karp had objected to the playing of the DVD on record before the jury, despite limitations of admissibility requested by the defense.The jury listened attentively to the 90-minute tape Wednesday in Salem Superior Court of the now 14-year-old witness who testified two weeks ago, changing his statement, saying he saw nothing.On the DVD, recorded just days after the incident, the youth first was evasive when his parents were present during the interview, saying he saw gunfire from the kitchen window while also denying he actually knew Josey (Cabrera).Later when they left the room, he admitted he was a “lookout” for the AKC gang and admitted he knew Cabrera and picked him out as the shooter from a photo array.”You saw Josey shoot the gun?” asked Lynn Police Detective Stephen Withrow.”Yeh,” responded the youth.”How sure?””One hundred percent sure,” he responded during the interview.Then police quizzed the youth about the code the gangs have and the youth said it meant “don’t talk to police.”Judge David A. Lowy went into detail to the jury explaining to them that the purpose of the DVD is for them to assess the credibility of the witness and compare what the youth testified to on the stand and what he told police during the interview.Karp maintains that authorities have the wrong shooter and that someone else fired the fatal shot that killed Pich.Jurors are expected to visit the scene of the crime on Monday morning and also visit the 7-Eleven store at the corner of Fayette and Essex streets.Cabrera, who was just age 18 at the time of the incident, has maintained his innocence since the onset of the case. He is charged with premeditated murder in the first-degree. A conviction will put him in prison for the rest of his life with no chance of parole.