Tyquinn James was outside a store eating a Pop-Tart at about 7:40 p.m. Feb. 10, 2013, when a man on a bike rode by and shot him three times.
James, 25, fell to the ground dead. The bicyclist rode away.
Video surveillance, wiretaps, a murder weapon and courtroom confessions will prove Malik Derry was the man on the bike, killing James in a plan with his older brother, Mykal, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Erik Bergman told jurors Wednesday.
But it isn’t that cut and dry, defense attorneys for the two men countered in their opening statements.
The brothers are on trial for murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the killing, which was captured on surveillance video outside the Mecca Chicken that was on the 1300 block of Adriatic Avenue.
“There’s a lot of evidence in this case that points to someone else, not Malik Derry,” attorney Joseph Liguori said of his client.
And there could have been many people, said Ed Weinstock, Mykal Derry’s attorney.
“Tyquinn James was involved in the underbelly of Atlantic City,” Weinstock said, citing prior times the victim was shot. “He was involved in a lot of untoward things… It could have been anybody that he would deal with that could have done this.”
Two of those questionable people were allegedly the Derry brothers, who already have been convicted in federal court for their roles in the violent drug-trafficking gang known as Dirty Blok that was centered in Atlantic City’s Stanley Holmes Village.
Mykal was the leader, according to his conviction. Malik was his main enforcer, sent in when things needed to be handled.
Both men are already serving federal life sentences.
But the five men and nine women hearing the case won’t know that.
Items tied to the crime were found in a residence tied to Mykal Derry. But there was no DNA or fingerprints tying the brothers to them, their defense said.
They will know that an FBI investigation intercepted text messages and phone calls the brothers made the night of the killing. But they have been told it was an investigation unrelated to the brothers.
“A white lie,” Superior Court Judge John Rauh said during motions earlier in the week. But a necessary one to get a fair trial.
The communication between the brothers and others that night show an interest in James’ location. Referred to as TY or T-Weese, Mykal tells Malik to “bring that.”
“That,” FBI Special Agent Christopher Kopp will testify, refers to a gun.
“You will never hear Mykal Derry instruct anyone to do anything,” Weinstock said. “You will never say that he is bringing anything to anyone.”
The shooting was caught on surveillance video. The suspect is in a hoodie with a mask covering his face.
A bike, hoodie, mask and gun matching the shell casings found at the scene were all found inside a residence said to belong to Mykal.
“What (the prosecutor) didn’t tell you is that there is no DNA on any of those items that matches Malik Derry,” Liguori said. “There are no fingerprints on any of those items that matches Malik Derry.”
In previous court appearances, both brothers have attempted to clear the other.
At their first appearance in court two days before the killing, Malik said he had an affidavit showing his brother had “nothing to do with nothing.”
But there is no affidavit, Liguori said. And Malik Derry still never admitted he was involved in the killing, just that he brother was not.
During the federal trial, Mykal Derry admitted to the killing.
He said he told people it was his brother to earn Malik street credit.
“You may ask yourself, Why would anyone take responsibility for a crime they didn’t commit?” Weinstock said.
His answer was love.
“Mykal Derry loves his brother,” he said. “He would do anything for him… The reality is that it was a false confession.”
The state's first witness, Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office Detective Caroline MacDonald, helped introduce photos from the crime scene and items found at two residences tied to the Derrys. Jurors also were shown pictures of James after he was shot.
The trial continues Thursday.
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