Phan brothers await their fate in murder case

LOWELL — After more than 10 hours of deliberations over three days, the jury in the Phan brothers’ murder trial issued a memo early Friday afternoon saying they were at an impasse and asking for guidance from the judge.

“The memo says, ‘We’ve reached the point where we’re not sure we can reach a settlement and we need some advice,'” Judge Kenneth Salinger told the attorneys.

After meeting with the lawyers, Salinger sent a note to the jury, encouraging them to take their time and continue deliberating.

In reaching this answer, Salinger said that the evidence presented over eight days included the testimony of 41 witnesses and 121 pieces of evidence, which corresponded to approximately 33 to 34 hours of trial time. He emphasized that the jury had not yet reached the point of being “just and thorough” in its deliberations.

The jury’s request on Friday was not unexpected. On Thursday, the first day of deliberations, the jury of seven women and five men sent a note later in the day, expressing that they were tired and that they should go home to deepen the discussions. On Friday, after Salinger’s response to the stalemate, they sent another note at 3:50 p.m., once again asking to go home; Salinger also accepted this request.

The jury usually deliberates until 4 p.m. and is then dismissed.

The jury will reconvene at 9 a.m. Monday in Middlesex Superior Court to consider the fate of Billy, 33, Billoeum, 32, and Channa Phan, 31. Three brothers from Lowell are accused of fatally shooting 22-year-old Tyrone. Four years ago, Phet outside his home in Lowell.

If the jury deadlocked, resulting in a hung jury, Salinger could declare a mistrial, which would mean the trial would have to be retried at a later date.

Arguments began Wednesday afternoon following moving closing statements by Middlesex Deputy District Attorney Daniel Harren, along with attorneys Rosemary Scapicchio on behalf of Channa Phan, James McCall on behalf of Billoeum Phan, and Steven Rappaport on behalf of Billy Phan.

Harren started his approximately 80-minute closing speech with the same expression he used in his speech. Opens on October 30: “Twenty-two minutes. Twenty-one shots. “Eight people who shot and killed 22-year-old Tyrone Phet.”

According to Harren, one of the Phan brothers killed the other two in the early morning hours of Sept. 14, 2020, at Phet’s 50 Spring Ave. He took him to the area where his house was located. The brother who was driving remained in the vehicle parked on Arlene Road. the other two “waited” on nearby Spring Avenue for 22 minutes before opening fire on Phet, a former Chelmsford High School football star and father of two.

Shortly after 1 a.m., Phet was found unconscious and not breathing by Lowell Police Officer Jonathan Proulx, wearing only boxers and a bathrobe, inside a blue Honda Civic, riddled with bullets. Phet’s pet German shepherd was inside the car, unharmed.

Based on the 10 10 mm and 11.40 caliber casings found at the scene, the police determined that 21 shots were fired from two guns.

Dr., a medical doctor with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Adebola Yakubu-Owolewa said one of the eight bullets that hit Phet on Tuesday went through his upper right arm, entered his chest, passed through both his lungs and heart, and lodged in his ribcage. Another bullet struck Phet in the head, passed through his brain and exited his skull.

Harren, who prosecuted the case with Middlesex Deputy District Attorneys Thomas Brandt and Yashmeen Desai, told jurors during closing that even though the evidence could not explain why Phet died, there was no need for the prosecution to establish a motive. Instead, they must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Phan brothers were responsible for the shooting; He argued that the evidence clearly showed it.

The prosecution’s case relied largely on the testimony of witnesses. Abdulai MarandaHe spent nearly five hours on the stand on November 7, claiming that the Phan brothers planned the attack.

Maranda, who testified under immunity, said that he was very close friends with Channa Phan and that Channa and his brothers were invited to join the street gang in 2016.

Maranda alleges that just after midnight on September 14, 2020, Channa Phan picked her up at Billy Phan’s 98 Wannalancit St. He stated that he called him to his house at the address. Maranda said he used his Infiniti sedan to meet the brothers, saw two guns in the kitchen and received instructions from Billy. Phan will serve as a lookout or getaway driver on Middlesex Street.

Once the plan was implemented, Maranda said Channa Phan drove away, following three brothers who he claimed were in his SUV.

During the trial, Harren seized Maranda’s cell phone records and Infiniti’s “infotainment system,” a central digital system that stores information such as navigation data, as evidence. The prosecution argued that this evidence supported Maranda’s version of events.

During closing, Harren went over the evidence again and highlighted Maranda’s cell phone recording, which showed a 40-second call from Channa Phan shortly after midnight on September 14, 2020. Maranda’s Infiniti infotainment system at her 98 Wannalancit St. It showed that he had arrived at his address. around 12:22 p.m., approximately 14 minutes after the call. The infotainment system also confirmed his journey to Middlesex Street.

Harren also presented jurors with a selection of security camera footage, including a clip from 91 Arlene Road. The footage shows an SUV pulling up to the side of the road in the 80th block of Arlene Road around 12:45 a.m. and its lights off. Two figures are seen exiting the vehicle and heading through the backyard of 85 Arlene Road towards Phet’s home on Spring Boulevard.

Although there is no sound in the footage, the SUV’s lights turn back on during the shooting. Two men are then seen running from the Spring Avenue area towards the SUV, jumping into the vehicle and driving away.

The prosecution argued that the SUV in the footage was Channa Phan’s 2014 Honda Pilot, which his girlfriend sold at Lynnway Auto Auction in Billerica days after the shooting. Police then tracked the vehicle and discovered its backup light was off, just like the SUV seen in the surveillance video.

During closing arguments, all three defense attorneys aggressively challenged Maranda’s credibility, arguing that he lied to save himself. He claimed that Maranda did not know his clients, stating that he could not name any of his family members or even remember their dates of birth or whether they were married.

Scapicchio delved into Phet’s past with jurors, reminding them of his past as a known Adderall dealer and his involvement with illegal gambling, which left him with a gambling debt of $4,000, as revealed during the trial.

He also stated that several items were missing from Phet’s apartment, including expensive sneakers, a necklace chain, the Adderall he allegedly sold, and cash. Additionally, 2 open safes and 50 blank credit cards were found in the apartment.

“There is no evidence that my client recognized Mr. Phet from a hole in the wall,” Scappicio told jurors. “He has no connections and no reason for wanting to kill Mr. Phet. “A lot of people would want to kill him because he owed money to a lot of people, he was dealing drugs, and he was involved in credit card fraud.”

Scapicchio also questioned why investigators made no effort to obtain DNA evidence from cups and bottles found in Phet’s apartment or collect fingerprints from opened safes.

“How can you trust an investigation that doesn’t exist?” Scapicchio said. “If they are investigating with blind eyes, how will they find out what really happened? “If they’re handing out immunity like lollipops?”

McCall also emphasized the absence of physical evidence, a clear motive, and any connection between Billoeum Phan, the other two brothers, and Phet.

“No one sees (Billoeum Phan) getting into the car, no one puts a gun in his hand that night, there is no identification on the video, and most importantly, there is no physical evidence, no DNA, no fingerprints, no gunshots,” McCall told jurors. . “You would think there would be evidence, a connection. “Everything you’ve heard is consistent with (Billoeum Phan) being innocent.”

Rappaport told jurors that Maranda was briefed by investigators on what his motivation was behind the shooting.

As revealed during the trial, Maranda’s vehicle was seized and he was summoned to appear before the grand jury. In the two days leading up to his grand jury testimony, Maranda spent several hours with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Lowell and State police, but no recording of those conversations was made.

“Police had a theory that the shooting was related to some type of gang retaliation,” Rappaport said. “That was their theory. “When they brought Maranda before the grand jury and asked him how you knew that was the reason for the shooting, he said, ‘because you told me.'”

Authorities have previously claimed that Phet’s murder was motivated by his status as an “associate” although not an actual member. a rival gang. On Sept. 13, 2020, the day before Phet was killed, someone believed to be a member of a rival gang walked up to 478 Wilder St., where authorities said he was known to be affiliated with the Phan brothers’ gang. He opened fire on a house at . part This evidence was not brought up during the trial.

All three brothers face first-degree murder charges, which carry a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. But the jury has the option of convicting the defendants of second-degree murder, a lesser crime that carries a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The lesser charge of murder means that the Phan brothers killed Phet deliberately, without premeditation, without excessive brutality or cruelty; these are two elements of first degree murder.

During closing arguments Wednesday, Harren played audio from a surveillance camera in the 400 block of School Street that captured the shooting. In the audio recording, two gunshots are heard, which Harren said are evidence of extreme brutality and cruelty.

“Didn’t the first shootings kill him?” said Harren. “Was there a need for a second grouping? “To the jurors, this was outrageous.”

The Phan brothers, neither of whom has a license to carry firearms, are also charged with illegal possession of ammunition.

Additionally, Billy Phan is charged with intimidating or tampering with a witness for allegedly trying to bribe Maranda. Maranda testified that Billy Phan offered him $100,000 to lie to the grand jury; It was an initiative the prosecution claimed he initially pursued before deciding to tell the truth.

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