LOWELL — Under immunity for his involvement in Tyrone Phet’s death, the prosecution’s key witness took the stand in Middlesex Superior Court, implicating the Phan brothers — Billy, Billoeum, and Channa — as the architects behind the murder of the 22-year-old Lowell resident and former Chelmsford High football star.

Abdulai Maranda testified for nearly five hours during the brothers’ murder trial on Thursday, claiming he was following orders when he drove separately to a location near the scene of the shooting, where he was to serve as a lookout and potential getaway driver.

During questioning by Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Daniel Harren, Maranda testified that on the night of Sept. 13, 2020, he was contacted by Channa Phan and instructed to come to Billy Phan’s home on Wannalancit Street. Maranda, who said he was a lower-level gang member, did not question the request but asked if he needed to bring a gun.

When Harren asked why he inquired about bringing a gun, Maranda responded, “Because that’s the life we ​​live.”

Maranda testified that upon arriving at Billy Phan’s home, where Channa and Billoeum Phan were also present, he saw two handguns in the kitchen. Billy Phan, who Maranda alleged is the head of the street gang, identified by authorities as the Outlaws, instructed Maranda to drive his car to a location on Middlesex Street and wait. Maranda said he was to honk his horn if he saw a police cruiser, serve as backup, or act as a getaway driver if necessary.

Maranda said he knew a shooting was imminent, even though it was never explicitly mentioned.

Maranda testified that the three brothers then got into Channa Phan’s SUV, a 2014 Honda Pilot, while he got into his Infiniti, and they headed out. Surveillance video and data recovered from the vehicles shown during the trial indicated at about 12:40 am Sept. 14, 2020 they drove to the area of ​​Spring Avenue, including the Pilot, which parked in the 80 block of Arlene Road.

Maranda then sat and waited, eventually hearing the gunshots ring out from over a fence where he was positioned. Maranda recounted how police cruisers began to flood the area.

As Lowell Police Officer Jonathan Proulx testified during the first week of the trialit was shortly after 1 am when he discovered Phet’s lifeless body riddled with bullets inside a blue Honda Civic parked in a small parking lot outside his home at 50 Spring Ave. Phet’s pet German shepherd sat next to him in the front passenger’s seat, unharmed by the gunfire.

Trooper David Hughes, of the State Police Firearms Identification Section, testified on Wednesday that he recovered 21 spent casings from the scene of the shooting. Ten of them were 10mm casings, and 11 were .40-caliber casings. The firearms used in the incident have not been recovered.

Phet was struck by eight bullets, which struck his arms, chest, and head.

Police obtained surveillance video showing an SUV pulling into a parking lot off Arlene Road, approximately 22 minutes before the shooting. Two men are seen exiting the SUV and walking toward the shooting scene. Around the time of the shooting, the SUV’s headlights turn on, and moments later, two men run back to the vehicle from the direction of Spring Avenue. The SUV then leaves the area.

Maranda testified that he stayed at the scene for a while to ensure the Phan brothers had gotten away before deciding to leave. He told Harren from the stand that he was worried about being pulled over by police, which ultimately happened. When questioned by the officer during the stop, Maranda claimed he was leaving a friend’s house. Police searched him and his car before letting him go. However, days later, his car was seized by authorities.

Maranda testified that he informed Channa Phan about the situation. Channa advised him to contact their attorney. Maranda testified that he then received a summons to appear before the grand jury. Upon informing Channa Phan, he was once again advised to contact their attorney.

According to his account on Thursday, Maranda said he met with Billy Phan at Lowell Heritage State Park in Pawtucketville in October 2020, the day before he was set to testify.

“He explained to me the worst case scenarios of the subpoena since it’s a capital crime,” Maranda said. “He expressed to me that I’m basically (expletive). He gave me a couple options.”

Maranda testified that the options discussed were to commit perjury to protect the brothers from any charges, to go on the run, or to “go in there and try to weasel my way out,” Maranda said. Maranda claimed that Billy Phan offered him $100,000 to pursue the third option, with an additional promise of $50,000 to Maranda’s mother.

Maranda testified that his initial goal was to follow the plan and lie to investigators. However, he eventually began to tell the truth. When Harren asked why he changed his mind, Maranda said, “There’s no way I was lying my way out of this one.”

Harren questioned Maranda about the financial assistance he received for testing before the grand jury and during the trial, which included paid travel and hotel accommodations.

Following Harren’s direct examination, Maranda faced intense scrutiny from the defense attorneys representing the Phan brothers. Rosemary Scapicchio for Channa Phan, Steven Rappaport for Billy Phan, and James McCall for Billoeum Phan, each took turns grilling Maranda with questions, starting with Scapicchio.

Scapicchio fired off rapid questions, starting with Maranda’s earlier statement about not wanting to snitch on his friends.

“You knew you weren’t going to jail, right?” Scapicchio said. “You got a free pass on that right? …If you wanted to help your friends, you could have said ‘I did it,’ but you didn’t want to help your friends, you wanted to help yourself, right?”

Scapicchio challenged Maranda’s claim of being a close friend, even a best friend, with Channa Phan, who is alleged to have invited him into the gang while Maranda was incarcerated in 2016. Scapicchio pointed out that Maranda couldn’t answer basic questions about Channa Phan , such as his parents’ names, the fact that he had a wife, his birthdate, or the names of any of his numerous siblings and cousins, aside from Billy and Billoeum.

Rappaport also zeroed in on Maranda’s unfamiliarity with Billy and Billoeum, in particular, pressing him during cross-examination with, “You really didn’t know either of these individuals before that night, did you?’

All three attorneys also focused on the discrepancies between Maranda’s grand jury testimony and his statements on Thursday, noting his stories continue to change, including what conversations he had with which Phan brother and where he parked at the time of the shooting.

The attorneys also highlighted that prosecutors and police had spent several hours meeting with Maranda before the grand jury. Rappaport alleged that during those meetings, information about the case was force-fed to Maranda, which he then repeated to the grand jury.

Authorities have claimed that Phet’s murder was due to his status as an “associate” of a rival gang they were feuding with. On Sept. 13, 2020, the day before Phet was killed, someone believed to be a member of a rival gang fired gunshots at a home at 478 Wilder St., which authorities say is known to be connected to the Outlaws.

Rappaport suggested during questioning that Maranda only knew about the two gangs feuding because authorities informed him. When asked during the grand jury how he knew that the shooting was gang related, Maranda responded, “because you told me,” as referenced by Rappaport in the grand jury minutes.

The attorneys also went over Maranda’s immunity, noting that he was not only immune to prosecution for Phet’s murder but also for other offenses, including those involving drugs and violence.

“And you’ve never really served anything other than a house sentence, have you?” Rappaport asked Maranda at one point. “You’ve managed, have you not, to avoid incarceration on cases that are very serious….”

Before Maranda could answer, Harren objected to the questioning, effectively ending that line of inquiry.

Throughout his hours on the stand, Maranda provided short and subdued responses, often taking a long time to reply and frequently asking for questions to be repeated. At one point, he admitted to feeling nervous during Scapicchio’s questioning.

“Yeah, it’s a murder trial,” Maranda told the attorney. “I’m nervous…the way that you’re speaking is fast. I’m just trying to answer the questions the right way and tell the truth.”

Perhaps the most contentious moment during Maranda’s hours on the stand came at the very end of his time there. Scapicchio asked, “Would you agree that the truth stays the same, yes or no?” Maranda attempted to give a detailed answer, but Scapicchio aggressively interrupted, demanding a yes or no response.

“If you’re telling the truth, it’s always the same, it’s not different all the time, because there’s one truth, right?” she asked.

“Since I’ve been here,” Maranda responded, “I’ve told the truth and I have no reason to lie, and I’ve been 100% honest, I have no reason to lie about anything.”

Scapicchio repeated her question, to which Maranda said, “The truth is the truth.”

“Exactly, the truth is the truth,” Scapicchio said. “So when you said on direct examination that you got immunity, all the different stories that you’ve told, nobody told you they were going to take your immunity away, right?”

Harren again successfully objected to the questioning, ending that line of inquiry.

Maranda, who testified that he is an ex-gang member, no longer affiliated with the gang since the arrest of the Phan brothers, was escorted by law enforcement as he moved around the courthouse. Members of both Phet’s and the Phan brothers’ families have been present in the courtroom gallery throughout the trial.

In addition to facing first-degree murder charges, which carry a life sentence without parole, the Phan brothers are also charged with unlawful possession of ammunition. Billy Phan faces an additional charge of witness intimidation.

Phet, a 2016 graduate of Chelmsford High School, was a captain of the football team his senior year. Phet, who played the running back position, was a Sun All-Star in 2015.

Judge Kenneth Salinger informed jurors on Thursday that the trial is progressing ahead of schedule, with the prosecution expected to finish presenting evidence as early as Tuesday. Salinger had previously told jurors that the trial, including deliberations, could extend as long as Nov. 26.

The jury is composed of eight men and eight women. Four of the 16 jurors will be selected at random to serve as alternate jurors, while the remaining 12 will deliberate. If any of those 12 jurors must be excused once deliberations have begun, the alternates will be available to take their place.

The trial is scheduled to resume at 9 am Tuesday in Courtroom 17 of the Cornelius F. Kiernan Judicial Center. The court will be closed on Monday in observance of Veterans Day.

Follow Aaron Curtis on X, formerly known as Twitter, @aselahcurtis