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Grand Jury Postponed in Case of Man Linked to Tayshana Murphy Death

By DNAinfo Staff on September 16, 2011 4:17pm

Prosecutors believe Terique Collins, 24, supplied two men with the gun used to shoot 18-year-old Tayshana Murphy.
Prosecutors believe Terique Collins, 24, supplied two men with the gun used to shoot 18-year-old Tayshana Murphy.
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DNAinfo/Shayna Jacobs

MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — Prosecutors have asked for a delay in the grand jury case against Terique Collins, the ex-con accused of supplying the murder weapon used to kill a beloved high school basketball star in Harlem.

Collins, 24, is being held in jail for allegedly violating his parole by getting re-arrested on weapons possession in connection with the murder of 18-year-old Tayshana Murphy, the Division of Parole said. He was released in February after serving a one-and-a-half years of a 3 ½-year sentence for selling crack in front of police.

"The people are continuing to investigate this case," Assistant District Attorney Jefferey Levinson said at a brief court hearing on Friday, in which Collins did not appear.

Prosecutors have five days to call a grand jury against defendants or must release them from jail while the charges are pending.

Collins is due to return to court on Dec. 1.

Police are still looking for Collins' alleged accomplices Robert Cartagena, 20, and Tyshawn Brockington, 21, who allegedly shot Murphy three times in the chest, hip and arm at the Grant Houses where she lived.

Police and witnesses attributed the motive to an ongoing rivalry between residents of the Manhattanville and Grant Houses. The shooters in this case may have been getting even for an incident involving Murphy's younger brother, they said. Murphy's family denies that either was involved in an initial fight.

Collins' lawyer, James Kilduff, said Friday that his client maintains his innocence and was not involved in the Murphy murder in any way.