A witness said an alleged member of the Cribs street gang recounted how he killed a member of the Bloods gang in Linden
ELIZABETH -- A man accused of fatally shooting a rival gang member bragged to a cell mate in the Union County jail about the killing, a witness testified in court Thursday.
Eugene Cady, an alleged member of the Crips street gang, is being tried on charge he killed of a rival gang member in Linden in 2011. (NJ Advance Media file photo) Eugene Cady, 25, recounted how he sneaked up on 24-year-old Kason Wilson, of Linden, and shot him, Cady's former cell mate, told jurors.
"He was proud of it," the cell mate said under questioning from Union County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Henn. NJ.com is not using his name because authorities said he is at risk of injury if his name is made public.
Cady, of New Brunswick, is charged with murder in the Aug. 21, 2011, shooting of Wilson about 11 p.m. on the 900 block of Union Street.
Authorities say Cady is a member of Rollin 30's Crips street gang, and Wilson belonged to the G-Shine Bloods.
Security at the trial before Superior Court Judge Robert Kirsch has been increased because of the alleged gang connections, with as many as six sheriff's officer in the room, and a metal detector outside the courtroom.
Jackie Hallingshed, Wilson's aunt, has attended the trial daily.
"No one has the the right to take someone's life," said Hallingshed, one of two relatives who have been in the courtroom. Hallingshed acknowledged that Wilson has been in a street gang, but said, "He was getting out. He was tired of it."
The cell mate said he was in the Union County jail on a gun charge on Aug. 16, 2012 when a corrections officer came to his cell and took him to meet with investigators from the prosecutor's office.
He had no idea why the investigators wanted him, the cell mate said, and it was only after talking to them for about 20 minutes that he realized they were interested in what Cady had told him.
He admitted he was a member of a different set of the Crips, and said Cady had bragged about killing Wilson.
The cell mate agreed to give a written statement but said he refused to make a statement on a video recording.
He admitted in court that police had arrested him earlier this week because he dodged authorities to avoid receiving a subpoena to come to court.
Cady's attorney, Alan Bowman, repeatedly asked the cell mate what led up to his statement, but the witness said he had no contact with the prosecutor's office about the case prior to the day he gave a statement.
He also said there was little conversation before he agreed to give a statement, and that authorities had not offered any deal regarding his own criminal case.
The cell mate said he was later found not guilty of the gun charge. He was released from custody after testifying.
Earlier witnesses testified that Wilson had been shot three times at close range, twice in the head and once in chest, with a bullet severing his aorta. Each of the wounds was lethal, a witness said.
Wilson and his girlfriend had a child and the girlfriend was pregnant with their second child when Wilson was killed.
Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.