Man gets year in jail for refusing to testify at trials with different outcomes for cabby murder

Half a snitch

A man given immunity in exchange for testifying at the trials of two men charged with killing cab driver Heureur Previlon will have a year behind bars to think about why he then refused to take the stand in the two cases, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office says.

A Suffolk County Superior Court judge twice found Phillip J. Williams guilty of contempt of court for refusing to testify in the murder trials of Cleveland Martin - found guilty of killing Previlon in December - and Jashawn Robinson - acquitted this month.

Prosecutors say information from Williams proved critical in tracking Martin and Robinson to Virgina following the 2005 murder for money. Facing a trespassing charge, Williams told investigators he had talked to the pair by phone; his cell-phone records led police to the two defendants. But even after being granted immunity, he refused to sing at either trial. So now his present stay in prison on a Bristol County gun conviction will be extended a year.

Suffolk County DA Dan Conley called him a worm:

"This defendant helped investigators catch his friends not because it was the right and moral thing to do, but to get out from under a minor offense. Once they went to trial, he withheld powerful evidence from two juries for no reason but to stymie the justice system. He's served only himself every step of the way. It's despicable – and contemptible."