By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — The trial of a Chinatown teen accused of murder was put on hold Wednesday when the prosecution's star witness went "missing in action" only hours after appearing in another courtroom on his own criminal charges, the DA said.
Jesus Baez was set to testify for the prosecution Wednesday afternoon in the murder trial of 18-year-old Victor Fong, but vanished after appearing earlier on sexual misconduct and child endangerment charges at 100 Centre Street, the main criminal court building, sometime Wednesday morning.
Baez, 18, was allegedly part of the fight that erupted on Hester Street between a group of Hispanic and Chinese young men, including Fong, on Nov. 18, 2009. The fight allegedly resulted in the death of 18-year-old Nelson Pena.
Assistant District Attorney Steven Nuzzi said that Baez was supposed to wait outside the courtroom he was in Wednesday morning for his Legal Aid lawyer, Ben West, who was then going to accompany him to Fong's murder trial at 111 Centre Street.
"He did not wait outside court (part A) as Mr. West instructed," Nuzzi said, adding, "he is missing in action at this point."
Nuzzi told the judge that they were in contact with Baez's mother who "knew that he went to court today," but did not know his whereabouts afterward.
Jurors were told to go home for the day after the lunch break, when Nuzzi reported Baez could not be found.
"I apologize — obviously this is a surprise," Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Bruce Allen told jurors as he dismissed them.
"I would ask you not to speculate as to why this would happen," the judge added.
Fong, 18, is charged with murdering Pena and slashing one of Pena's friends during the street brawl.
He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder, but his defense team has argued he could not have been the killer based on a video they say proves he was not in the vicinity of the fatal slashing.
Before the Baez development, jurors heard testimony from the medical examiner and an NYPD sergeant who investigated the crime scene.
Pena died from a five-inch stab wound to the chest that sliced through his ribs and punctured his heart, according to the testimony of medical examiner Jason Graham.
Graham said he could not say for certain what type of sharp object was used to slash Pena three times, including on his leg and near his collar-bone.
Pena's family members sobbed heavily in the courtroom as the prosecutor showed jurors shirtless photos of the deceased teen on the autopsy table.
A large sewn-up incision ran horizontally across his chest, evidence of the surgical attempts made by doctors to save his life at Bellevue Hospital.
Testimony is expected to continue Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Baez is set to testify if he is located. If he is not, the surviving victim, Vincent Rivera and a doctor who treated Pena are expected to take the witness stand.
