web1_TTL092917arena.jpg

Metal detectors, restrictive bag policy coming to Mohegan Sun Arena

Their view: Here’s an original thought – or is it?

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Roberto Battle and David Nealy openly talked about the shooting death of Michael &#8220;DJ Mo&#8221; Onley, several witnesses said Wednesday.</p><p>One witness even suggested that Battle had bragged about it.</p><p>Battle, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Nealy, of Kingston, are both facing counts of criminal homicide and conspiracy to commit criminal homicide in relation to the October 2013 death of the prominent local DJ.</p><p>Onley was killed outside the now closed Outsiders Bar on South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>On Wednesday, the second day of trial, prosecution witness Stephanie LaRock said Battle and Nealy &#8212; also known by street names &#8220;Ruthless&#8221; and &#8220;D-Rock,&#8221; respectively &#8212; visited the home of mutual friend Jamie Compton after the shooting.</p><p>According to LaRock, when news began to spread that DJ Mo had been killed outside the bar, Battle laughed, seeming to gloat, &#8220;I just shot the place up.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;It was horrible, can you imagine?&#8221; LaRock said during her direct examination by Assistant District Attorney Jill Matthews on Wednesday. &#8220;I felt really uncomfortable, I just wanted to get out of there.&#8221;</p><p>Compton, also a witness, testified that everyone was thrown out of the home, including Battle and Nealy, shortly after people began to find out about Mo&#8217;s death.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Did a drive-by&#8217;</strong></p><p>Wednesday&#8217;s standout witness was perhaps Shakim Varrick.</p><p>Currently incarcerated after pleading guilty to a federal charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, Varrick gave information that led to the arrest of Battle and Nealy in May 2017.</p><p>According to Varrick, he was in New York City on the day of the murder, visiting relatives. It was his gun that Battle allegedly used to fire at the crowd standing outside the bar after he had been kicked out earlier that night.</p><p>Varrick&#8217;s girlfriend, Jessica Fox, corroborated Varrick&#8217;s statement that Battle had used his gun, saying that he burst into the house, ran upstairs where the gun was located, then quickly left the house.</p><p>Varrick said he left New York around midnight, being driven by his mother. He napped on the ride back to Wilkes-Barre, turning off his phone during the ride.</p><p>When he turned his phone back on, he said he had missed calls and texts from Battle.</p><p>Meeting up with Battle and Nealy after getting to Wilkes-Barre, Varrick said Nealy was &#8220;sweating.&#8221; Varrick said he asked Nealy what happened, but Nealy told him to ask Battle.</p><p>&#8220;Battle said they put in work,&#8221; Varrick said, explaining that this was slang for having done something to harm someone. &#8220;He said they did a drive-by.&#8221;</p><p>He went to see if his gun was still in the home, but it was missing. He said he then confronted Battle.</p><p>&#8220;I ask him why he do what he do. He really didn&#8217;t have an answer,&#8221; Varrick recalled.</p><p><strong>Who sold the gun?</strong></p><p>Varrick&#8217;s testimony began to grow murky at this point. He said Battle sold the gun to someone about two days later, saying he wanted the gun sold himself, worried that Battle would use it to hurt someone else.</p><p>But Allyson Kacmarski, attorney for Battle, pointed out this contradicted previous testimony.</p><p>She said Varrick had previously said he sold the gun himself, not Battle. On the stand, Varrick maintained it was Battle who sold the weapon, saying he must have been confused by the line of questioning during his previous testimony or that the transcript was incorrect.</p><p>Kacmarski called into question the validity of Varrick&#8217;s testimony in other ways, suggesting he was motivated by a desire to receive a lesser sentence on his gun charge.</p><p>Varrick has not yet been sentenced, but federal prosecutors have indicated that they&#8217;re willing to recommend a sentence of five to 10 years in exchange for his testimony in this case.</p><p>For his part, Varrick said he&#8217;s just telling the truth.</p><p>Kacmarski also implied that Varrick may have had a motive to sell the gun &#8212; implying he was in the car that night and had fired into the crowd, and was looking to lose a gun that had his fingerprints on it.</p><p>Varrick said this wasn&#8217;t true, telling Kacmarski her client himself could tell her that he was in New York that day, along with other witnesses.</p><p><strong>Car owner testifies</strong></p><p>Wednesday concluded with testimony from two people regarding the Mercedes-Benz allegedly used in the crime.</p><p>Candace Hepding, Nealy&#8217;s girlfriend, testified she got a call that night from Nealy, asking her to pick him up near Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. He told her he had a flat tire.</p><p>Meanwhile, the car&#8217;s owner, Michael Goodrich, told the jury he had loaned the vehicle to Nealy, who called him later and told him he could find the car near the hospital.</p><p>The vehicle did not have a flat tire, said Goodrich. After that weekend, he said Nealy never had interest again in borrowing the vehicle, despite frequently borrowing it in the past.</p><p>Testimony will resume Thursday morning before Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_web1_web1_David-Nealy-2-2-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nealy </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_web1_web1_David-Nealy-2-2-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Nealy </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_web1_web1_Roberto-Battle-2-2-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Battle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_web1_web1_Roberto-Battle-2-2-4.jpg</photo1><caption1>Battle </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Witness in DJ Mo trial claims alleged shooter bragged about deadly drive-by