Prosecutors say Mark Whitaker was one of three men who robbed the Happy Days go-go bar on Girard Avenue and Front Street on Jan. 26, 1999. They say the incident turned tragic when the two men Whitaker was with shot killed the bar's manager and critically wounded another man.
That man, Thomas Cigani, who is now paralyzed, described how the bullet hit him that night, and the pain that rippled up his spine before he collapsed, "like a sack of potatoes," he said. He testified that he could remember nearly every detail of the night that changed his life, and he emotionally described his medical issues for the last two decades, saying that instead of instantly dying that night, he's now dying a slow death.
Whitaker, 49, is charged with murder, aggravated assault and robbery. He was previously convicted of second-degree murder, but he won an appeal to be retried.
His two co-defendants took the stand on Tuesday.
Prosecutors identified the two shooters as Abdul Lee Stewart and Stephen Abu Saleem Shakuur. Both men were convicted of first-degree murder and are spending life in prison.
Stewart told jurors he lied in a videotaped confession pointing at Whittaker, and Shakuur later kept repeating "no comment" to the prosecutor.
A homicide detective also took the stand to tell jurors that Stewart had previously asked to be transferred and wanted a deal for his testimony, but that the prosecutor refused. He said Stewart told them he would lie.
Judge Rose Marie DeFino-Nastasi order Shakuur to answer, and when he refused, she held him in contempt and tacked on half a year to his life sentence.
Whittaker's defense attorney asked for a mistrial, which was denied, and say officials have the wrong man.
The trial is supposed to continue through the week.