Jailed killer’s tirade prompts a recess in homicide trial
By MARK MARONEY - mmaroney@sungazette.comArticle Photos
More than halfway through the third day of a homicide and conspiracy trial for Cruz-Echevarria, Durrant, the key prosecution witness, launched into a tirade alleging Cruz-Echevarria was his former drug-dealing partner who was involved in setting up the March 31, 2007, slaying of Eric D. Sawyer, 38, of Philadelphia.
“Dead man’s mother got to sit here and go through this again,” Durrant said, referring to Sawyer’s mother who has been in the courtroom daily.
His voice cracked and Judge Nancy L. Butts ordered Durrant not to say another word. She called for a recess until cooler heads prevailed, with testimony resuming 30 minutes later.
Cruz-Echevarria, 21, of 1450 Kaiser Ave., South Williamsport, is accused of driving former city resident Durrant to an unnamed alley in the 1500 block of High Street to shoot and kill Sawyer. Durrant confessed he and allegedly Cruz-Echevarria lured Sawyer to his death over a false deal to buy heroin.
Earlier, Durrant admitted being the triggerman who pumped two rounds from a shotgun into Sawyer’s back. Durrant said he creeped up on Sawyer from behind in the alley near his sister-in-law’s house.
“I shot Sawyer in the back of the head,” Durrant said. “I walked over and shot him again.”
Still photographs taken from a video camera affixed to the Textron plant across High Street from the site reveal Cruz-Echevarria arriving in a Mercury Mountaineer and dropping off Durrant in the area about 1:23 that morning.
Cruz-Echevarria then went to meet Sawyer at a downtown bar and escorted Sawyer to the site of the slaying, Durrant said.
Photos placed on a board for jurors to see show Cruz-Echevarria in the sport-utility vehicle and then another man, whom Durrant identified as Sawyer, driving a Dodge Caravan.
“I got the shotgun from Javier Cruz,” Durrant said. Durrant said the gun was rolled up in a black jacket with a hood. Durrant said he and Cruz went to a local store to buy shotgun shells.
Durrant said he and Cruz-Echevarria took their orders from Maurice Patterson, an inmate in the County Prison for whom they sold cocaine and heroin. Patterson ordered Sawyer’s death, Durrant said.
Durrant said he and Cruz-Echevarria kept in contact with Patterson by telephone and letter.
Inmate telephone conversations at the County Prison are recorded, Warden Kevin DeParlos testified Wednesday.
District Attorney Eric R. Linhardt played three telephone calls Patterson made from jail prior to Sawyer’s death. Cruz-Echevarria is heard speaking with Patterson.
“We’re family,” Patterson tells Cruz-Echevarria in one of the calls. “You (are) out there representing me. I brought you into this game.”
In one part of a March 30, 2007, conversation between Cruz-Echevarria and Patterson, Cruz-Echevarria is heard saying: “That other thing, that is going to be handled tonight.”
Durrant said the “other thing” meant killing Sawyer.
Patterson instructed Durrant and Cruz-Echevarria to go to Lowes and get a hacksaw, according to the taped phone call. Durrant said that amounted to an order to saw off the shotgun barrel.
Patterson also said to “be seen, but not be seen.”
Durrant said that meant take care of Sawyer without any witnesses.
“I did business with that chump,” Patterson said on the tape. Durrant said “that chump” was Sawyer.
In a recorded conversation Patterson had with Cruz-Echevarria, he instructed the 21-year-old Cruz, “If it ain’t licking right, don’t force it. We don’t need no unnecessary mistakes.”
Durrant said earlier parts of the discussion referred to selling drugs for the right price, but the second half was about killing Sawyer. Durrant said he agreed to testify in the case because, “Sawyer’s mother needs to know the truth why her son was killed.”
Durrant said Cruz-Echevarria and Patterson lied to him when they reported that Sawyer was working with the police.
Durrant said he later found out that the hit on Sawyer may have been ordered by Patterson because Patterson was trying to have an affair with Sawyer’s girlfriend.
“I was lied to and deceived,” Durrant said, believing now that Sawyer was not working for police.
“Javier and Patterson lied to me and you don’t put a lie out like that ... because it can cost them their life.”
Under cross-examination by defense attorney Ron Travis, Durrant admitted that he first told police the morning he and Cruz-Echevarria were arrested that Cruz-Echevarria was innocent and knew nothing about going after Sawyer.
Durrant said that was part of the “code of the street” where one doesn’t provide information about others to the authorities.
“I also knew all the evidence pointed toward me,” Durrant said.
Travis also had Durrant admit that he concocted a story about a third individual being in the Mountaineer but Durrant said he told police the truth after investigators looked at the video tape of the police following the vehicle that was stopped at Waltz Place and Second Avenue.
Travis continues with his cross-examination of Durrant when trial resumes this morning.
