The trial of two men charged with gunning down an innocent bystander began today with a prosecutor’s statement that 18-year-old Cedirick Steele was murdered because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time – and that one of the defendants also sought to have a critical witness killed in order to get away with the crime.

Assistant District Attorney Paul Treseler told a Suffolk Superior Court jury and a gallery packed with spectators that DANIEL PINCKNEY, Jr. (D.O.B. 7/4/88), and ANTWAN CARTER (D.O.B. 10/13/88) were driving in Pinckney’s black Pontiac in the area of Highland Avenue with a third individual on the afternoon of March 14, 2007, when they saw a group believed to be rivals.

After a brief exchange with those individuals, Treseler said, Pinckney drove the Pontiac a short distance and pulled into an alley. While in the car with the witness, Pinckney allegedly gave Carter gloves and a handgun with the instructions to wear the gloves and shoot at a rival.

“Within seconds, there are seven shots fired from the gun of Antwan Carter,” Treseler said.

Those shots did not strike any of the men’s rivals. Instead, they hit Steele – who by chance was standing in the same area – in the face, torso, and neck, killing him.

Steele was not involved in any gang activity and was actually waiting for a relative when he was shot to death. A graduate of Madison Park High School and a student at Bunker Hill Community College, Steele worked for the Meals on Wheels program.

After the shooting, Carter allegedly returned to the waiting Pontiac and was driven away by Pinckney.

“There are other charges here,” Treseler said. “There are witness intimidation charges” against Carter.

“You need to find her,” Carter allegedly said of the witness from the car in phone calls intercepted by authorities. “If she’s not history, I’m history …. You got to get rid of [the witness].”

Treseler said that the witness would testify in court and that her observations would corroborate statements by other witnesses unrelated to the defendants.

Though she is named in court papers and will appear in court, the district attorney’s office is not publicly identifying the witness out of concerns for her safety.

Carter and Pinckney are charged with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm as joint venturers. While Carter fired the gun, Treseler said, Pinckney is equally culpable because “he gave the instructions. He drove the car. He drove in the getaway.”

Carter is represented by attorney Barry Wilson and Pinckney by attorney James Greenberg. Judge Linda Giles is presiding over the trial, which is expected to last about two weeks.