Weeks after that alleged threat at Cantave’s auto shop in Brockton, Mario Burns, 39, of Dorchester, allegedly enlisted the help of an associate to kill Charles Cantave, a father of three.
Burns’s wife had taken her car to Cantave, and he replaced her engine with a used one. But the car stopped running.
Another mechanic, at a different shop, told her that the engine was faulty, so she filed a small claims civil lawsuit against Cantave.
Cantave appeared in Dorchester District Court on March 29, 2010, to answer to the lawsuit.
Mario Burns accompanied his wife to the hearing, and while she waited for the case to be heard, he allegedly left the courthouse to connect with Cornelius Evans, the associate.
The case was continued, and Cantave left the courthouse.
According to prosecutors, Burns left with his wife and when they arrived at his truck, Evans was sitting in the passenger seat.
Broadbent said Burns’s wife was surprised by the presence of Evans, a man she had never seen.
As Burns drove away, Cantave walked by and Burns allegedly told Evans, “There goes the [mechanic] right now!’’
Prosecutors said Burns pulled over and Evans got out of the truck. Moments later, a gunshot rang out in a nearby church parking lot, prosecutors said, and Evans returned to the truck, telling Burns to “just drive slow.’’
Authorities, based on a tip from a witness who copied down the license plate number on the truck, later arrested Burns and Evans.
Last year, Evans pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
Burns’s lawyer, Bernard Grossberg, indicated in his opening statements yesterday that Evans shot Cantave without direction from Burns.
Burns turned into the church parking lot only because Evans stated, “Hey, let me go holler at the guy,’’ Grossberg told the jury.
The trial, expected to last a week, began with a viewing by the jurors of the Dorchester District Court and the church parking lot where the shooting took place.
Burns is also charged with several firearms offenses.
Grossberg conceded in his opening statements that his client may be culpable of being an accessory after the fact in allegedly helping Evans hide evidence after the killing.
Judge Christine McEvoy instructed the jury that that charge is not being considered in the trial.
Nick Cantave, the victim’s brother, was the first witness called yesterday afternoon.
He said his brother was one of seven siblings who grew up in Hyde Park.
Their parents bought the auto shop on Main Street six years ago, and Charles Cantave had been the manager since that time.
