Witness testifies friend admitted to killing marijuana dealer

  • Nicholas Caccappolo is escorted to a preliminary hearing on the shooting death of a marijuana dealer in Allentown. A judge on Thursday ruled Caccappolo must stand trial on homicide charges.
Nicholas Caccappolo is escorted to a preliminary hearing on the shooting… (HARRY FISHER, THE MORNING…)
November 08, 2012|By Manuel Gamiz Jr., Of The Morning Call

A 21-year-old man testified Thursday he was waiting in his car on a rainy day in September for his friend and smoking partner Drizzy, who was about to score some marijuana.

Nicholas G. Caccappolo had been dropped off in an alley near Ninth and Chew streets and walked to his dealer's home, according to Jimmie Camacho, who was waiting in the car with another friend. A few minutes later, Caccappolo ran back into the car, excited and talking quickly, Camacho said.

Caccappolo, 20, of Allentown told Camacho and the other friend that instead of getting the drugs, he got into a fight with his dealer Anthony Otero, Camacho testified.

During the Sept. 18 fight, Caccappolo's gun went off and grazed Otero, Camacho testified. Caccappolo said he then shot Otero three more times in the stairwell of Otero's Allentown apartment building and fled, Camacho testified.

"I freaked out," Camacho testified. "I didn't want to be around him. I didn't want to get pulled over with the gun in my car. I had nothing to do with that."

Camacho said he let Caccappolo out of the car a few blocks away, but he never called police. Caccappolo sold the gun to the other friend in the car, Camacho testified.

Otero's wife discovered Otero dead on the staircase of the building at 905 Chew St. Allentown police said Otero, 19, was shot four times, once in the chest, plus wounds to his hand, thigh and shoulder.

District Judge Robert C. Halal said enough evidence was presented Thursday to send a homicide charge against Caccappolo to Lehigh County Court.

Caccappolo's attorney, Joshua Karoly, argued the only reason Camacho is testifying is because he was likely promised something in return.

"You don't expect us to believe you are here out of the goodness of your heart," Karoly said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Matthew Falk earlier said Camacho is facing an unrelated aggravated assault charge and that prosecutors had discussed the case, but promised Camacho nothing for testifying.

Camacho testified he picked up Caccappolo about 4 p.m. that day because he wanted to smoke some marijuana. Camacho was in the car with another friend, James Crenshaw.

Camacho said his friendship with Caccappolo mostly consisted of them smoking marijuana, driving around and talking about girls.

After driving around for 30 minutes, Caccappolo told Camacho he wanted to buy some marijuana and told him to drop him off near Ninth and Chew streets. Camacho said he did not know who lived there.

According to the criminal complaint:

Otero's wife told police Otero was going to take out the trash and sell marijuana to a man named Drizzy just before he was shot. Police learned Otero had been selling marijuana to Drizzy since May.

Detectives searched Otero's cellphone and saw several text messages from a contact listed as Drizzy. The last text message read "I'm here" and was sent minutes before the shooting.

Det. Daniel Gross Jr. testified no witnesses said they saw the shooting, but many said they heard the shots. He said surveillance footage showed someone enter the home and run out three minutes later.

Allentown police caught up to Camacho after reviewing surveillance footage, which showed his car driving away from the area after the shooting, he testified. He said police told him he could get charged with the homicide if he didn't tell them the truth.


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