Testimony begins in Palestra murder trial

The first day of testimony got off to a rocky start yesterday in the trial of two men charged in connection with last March's shootings outside of the Palestra that left one person dead, as friends of the victim got into a brawl outside the courtroom with friends of the defendants. Proceedings halted abruptly in the midst of the questioning of a Philadelphia detective at about 4 p.m., when the bailiff noticed the melee outside the trial of Kyle McLemore and Nathaniel Ortiz, both 21, who are charged with killing 22-year-old Anthony Davis and injuring three others -- including a Penn student -- near 33rd and Walnut streets following a high school basketball game at the Palestra. Several people were detained by police outside the courtroom. It was not immediately clear whether they were arrested, and Philadelphia Police and the District Attorney's office declined to comment. Earlier in the day, the prosecution and both defense attorneys presented the jury with their opening statements. Assistant District Attorney Jude Conroy told the three men and nine women on the jury that there was "an ongoing dispute" and "a violent history" between Davis -- who police say had a history of drug dealing -- and the two defendants. In a subdued speech, Conroy calmly laid out the facts of the case and the history that existed between the three men, who were rivals from opposite sides of the city. But the defense attorneys -- each of whom gave a separate statement -- said that their respective clients were totally uninvolved in the shootings and that "there was no beef" between them and Davis. Charles Peruto, McLemore's attorney, took the tactic of attacking the victim, saying that Davis "is a gun-slinging violent drug dealer" who "brought it upon himself." Peruto made several points -- which he wrote down on a dry-erase board inside the courtroom -- for the jury to remember. For one, he claimed that McLemore was unarmed on March 1 during the Philadelphia Public League's high school basketball championship game. Also, Peruto accused the police of forcing Davis' friend Jeffrey Noble -- who was shot in the back -- to identify the man who shot him before he was allowed to have surgery. Ortiz's lawyer, Fred Perri, also tried to discredit Noble's positive identification of Ortiz and McLemore as the shooters. Perri admitted that Ortiz got into a fistfight with Davis and his friends during the game --Ewhich prompted security officers to kick Ortiz, McLemore and their friends out of the Palestra -- but that he did not shoot anyone. Following lunch, the prosecution opened its case with testimony from several Philadelphia Police officers and detectives. They described the scene of the crime and the condition of the victims, as well as the actions they took upon arriving at the shooting site. More police officers are scheduled to testify tomorrow, and the trial could end as early as Friday. Other scheduled witnesses include the three people wounded in the shooting, including 1998 College graduate John La Bombard, who was working in the nearby Blauhaus and was struck in the leg by a bullet which went through the shed's thin wooden walls. The defense yesterday remained confident that they would gain an acquittal. During a mid-afternoon recess, Peruto turned to McLemore's mother and said "Friday, 4 o'clock -- not guilty." The trial will continue today at 9:30 a.m. in room 1002 of the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets.

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