SALEM — Prosecutors played surveillance video in court Friday which showed the moments before and after a shooting that left one man dead and another seriously injured.
William Cash, 46, of Lynn is facing life without the possibility of parole for the Easter Sunday killing two years ago of Lenardo “Lenny” Clement and wounding of his friend, Prince Belin. He has pleaded not guilty.
On the trial’s second day, Essex County Assistant District Attorney Susan Dolhun showed the jury a series of videos gathered by Lynn Police detectives and the Massachusetts State Police from Dunkin’ Donuts and the Brickett Elementary School, both on Lewis Street, as well as shops and a home near the crime scene in Lynn’s Central Square.
One of the videos captures a man who looks like Cash buying a large iced coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts before the shooting. The most dramatic images from a camera on Exchange Street showed a man walking behind Clement, Belin, and his fiancée after they left services at Zion Baptist Church.
The shooter, a heavy set man in a navy blue Husqvarna T-shirt, black shorts, and tan work boots, approaches the trio, pulls a handgun out of his right pocket and points it at them. Seconds later, the suspect puts the gun in his pocket and flees the scene. The shooting is not seen on the video. Prosecutors allege the man in the video is Cash.
Investigators say Cash stopped Clement, Belin, and his fiancée on a chance encounter at a downtown crosswalk while driving his Chrysler 300. Words were exchanged and Cash drove off, according to witnesses. Police said the video shows the defendant went back to his home on Greenleaf Circle, dropped off the Chrysler and got into his partner’s dark-colored Infiniti sedan. Detectives allege Cash stalked them in the car and on foot until the confrontation when he pulled the trigger.
The state’s retired chief medical examiner Dr. Henry Nields testified Clement was struck by three bullets, one to his heart. It’s likely the victim died within minutes of being shot, he said.
Muriel Clement, Lenardo’s mother who said she plans to attend the Essex County Superior Court proceedings until the trial ends next week, said it was very painful to watch the surveillance video of the final seconds of her 46-year-old son’s life.
“My heart started to flutter the moment I saw him,” she said. “I just kept thinking about the pain he went through.”
The trial resumes on Monday at 9 a.m.
