Man testifying in girl's slaying is caught texting on stand

PATERSON, N.J. – A New Jersey man testifying that he saw two men open fire before a 12-year-old girl was killed has been caught texting from the witness stand.

The Record reports (http://bit.ly/2eOqtAr) that Caurie Swinger was testifying Tuesday in the case of two men charged in Genesis Rincon's murder when sheriff's officers saw him on his phone.

Judge Scott Bennion ruled that defense attorneys for Jhymiere Moore and Jeffrey Ellerbee can cross-examine Swinger about his texting from the witness stand. The trial will resume Wednesday.

Genesis was struck in the head in July 2014 as she rode to a family gathering in Paterson. She was not the intended victim of what prosecutors say was an ongoing feud between rival gangs.

It wasn't immediately clear what Swinger was texting.

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Information from: The Record (Woodland Park, N.J.), http://www.northjersey.com