'He's got a gun,' victim warned cousin in shooting outside club

Yeury Colon died trying to warn his cousin about a gunman, according to testimony Thursday in the trial of the alleged shooter.

Colon was running across the parking lot of Club 570 in Hazleton on Aug. 1, 2009, yelling 'He's got a gun. He's got a gun.' His cousin, Rafael Calderon Brito, was approaching Johan Pujols when Pujols flicked the gun and fired and Colon dropped, Brito testified in Luzerne County court.

Brito said he grabbed Pujols' hand, twisted him to the ground and heard the gun fire again. Figuring the gun was empty, Brito said he released Pujols, who said he didn't want any trouble as he walked away.

Earlier in Thursday's testimony, a city police detective and gang expert testified that a man wounded by a gunshot in the incident was not a gang member.

Luis Perez-Rodriguez didn't belong to a gang but was a poser, Hazleton Detective Christopher Orozco said after being shown photos of Perez-Rodriguez flashing hand signs.

Orozco said the signs were from three different gangs; a true gang member wouldn't flash signs for other gangs.

Perez-Rodriguez was wounded outside the Hazleton club when Colon was shot to death. Pujols is charged with shooting them both. His attorney has argued that there was a gang conspiracy to kill or injure Pujols."

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