A friend of an alleged gang associate accused of a triple shooting told a jury he hung out on 42nd Street but was not a gangster.

Prosecutors allege that Cervio Cox, 26, is among those responsible for the bloodshed on Court Street around 9 a.m. on May 23, 2009.

A gunman opened fire on 16-year-old J'Dun Thompson, said by Police to be an associate of the Parkside and Middletown gangs.

Court Street is considered by the Police to be Parkside territory, according to prosecution evidence.

Prosecutors say the 42 gang perpetrated the shooting in revenge for their member Kenwandee Robinson being shot to death in their St. Monica's Road heartland the day before. That area is also known as 42.

The gang believed Parkside was responsible for Mr. Robinson's murder, though Mr. Thompson denies having anything to do with it.

The gunman who opened fire on Mr. Thompson also shot a father and son in a Court Street store where he ran for shelter. All three victims suffered non-fatal bullet wounds.

A car owned by Cox was used by the shooter and his accomplices. A Police gang expert gave evidence in the case on Tuesday that he had seen Cox in the 42 area before.

Prosecutors do not claim Cox was the shooter, as eyewitness accounts do not match his appearance. However, they say he was either a passenger in the car or loaned it to those responsible for the shooting.

Cox is the sole person charged, and faces seven charges including conspiracy to murder.

Yesterday, his former friend Joyanne Lawrence was called as a prosecution witness.

In answer to questions from prosecutor Robert Welling, Ms Lawrence, from Pembroke, said she met him two years ago and they became "good friends".

Mr. Welling was prevented by the judge from probing her further on whether they were "better than good friends".

Ms Lawrence told the court she had occasionally seen Cox hanging out in the area known as 42nd.

She said she called Cox after hearing Mr. Robinson had been shot dead there on May 22, 2009 "as I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't in the area".

She told the jury he seemed "fine".

The next day, she called Cox immediately after hearing of the shooting on Court Street. She explained that was "just to make sure that he wasn't anywhere around and that he was OK".

Asked why she thought he would be there when he lived in Smith's and hung out in St. Monica's, Ms Lawrence replied that there was "a lot of craziness going on" in terms of shootings and fights in the Pembroke area.

In answer to further questions from Mr. Welling, she said she called Cox again about an hour after that, but she has not spoken to him since.

Quizzing her further, defence lawyer Jerome Lynch QC suggested: "You know people from the 42 area, you associate with people from the 42 area?"

"Yes," she replied.

"You are not a gangster, are you?" inquired Mr. Lynch.

"No," replied Ms Lawrence.

Turning to the issue of Cox, the defence lawyer asked: "Is he part of that group, is he a gangster?"

Ms Lawrence replied: "No."

Cox's cell phone records are part of the Crown's case against him.

He told the Police he was in 42nd Street from 8.30 a.m. speaking to a girl on the phone for about half an hour. Meanwhile, he said he left his car on the street with the keys in it, and did not lend it to anyone. However, prosecutors say there is no such phone call visible in his records.

Cox, a father-of-one, was employed at the time of the incident as a water truck driver and has no previous convictions. He denies any involvement in the shootings and the case continues.