Man held for trial in murder of Nicki Minaj's road manager

AN EAST MOUNT Airy man was held for trial yesterday on murder charges in the February stabbing death of singer Nicki Minaj's road manager and on attempted-murder charges in the wounding of another Minaj crew member.

Pierce Boykin, 31, is accused of fatally stabbing De'Von Pickett, 29, of Brooklyn, N.Y., outside the Che Bar & Grill on Stenton Avenue near Johnson Street in East Germantown about 2:30 a.m. Feb. 18. Pickett was stabbed twice, in the heart and abdomen, Assistant District Attorney Kirk Handrich said.

Boykin is also accused of stabbing and wounding Eric Reese, also known as Eric Parker, 27.

Pickett, Reese and two other members of Minaj's crew - Marcus Kincy and Detrick Lowman - were in town to rehearse for Minaj's European tour and to visit friends and family.

In the early hours of Feb. 18, they and one of Lowman's cousins went to the Che Bar, where Reese said he was dating Travia Allen, a bartender who worked there.

Surveillance video from the bar shown during testimony by Homicide Detective Thorsten Lucke showed Reese's group going into the bar about 1 a.m.

Boykin, who Lucke said was wearing a black Pittsburgh Steelers hat and glasses, was already in the bar with two friends, identified by Handrich as Khaliyfa Neely and Anthony Torain, both of Philadelphia.

The prosecutor said yesterday after Boykin's preliminary hearing that Neely at some time had a relationship with Allen. He said that while at the bar, the two groups of men did not interact.

Reese testified that he spoke to Allen at the bar for "a second, gave her a hug and introduced her to De'Von." According to his and Kincy's testimonies, the manager or owner of the bar later told everyone to leave after a fired female bartender was inside and became unruly.

Reese said that after his group left and got into Lowman's car across the street, he called Allen to see if she was OK. She asked where he was, and he and his friends then got out of the car to wait for her to see that she got safely to her car.

After Allen walked out of the bar, Reese said, he and Pickett walked her to her car.

Kincy, 27, said he heard Pickett ask Allen, "Are you good, sis?" and she replied, "Yeah, I'm good."

But Kincy said one of the men in Boykin's group took issue with Pickett's asking Allen if she was OK, and said in an aggressive tone, "F--- you mean is she OK?"

Kincy said one of Boykin's friends pushed Lowman, and then "someone swung at De'Von." Kincy said he was not sure who swung at Pickett, but after reading a statement he had given to police, he testified it was Boykin who swung at Pickett.

Kincy said there was no one else near them at the time. He said he ran into an alleyway for 20 seconds, and when he returned, he saw Pickett lying on his back against a curb. He saw blood on Pickett's pants. He said he and his friends then took Pickett to a nearby hospital in Lowman's car.

During his testimony, Reese said it was one of Boykin's friends who fought with Pickett.

Reese said that after he escorted Allen to her car, one of Boykin's friends threw a punch at Pickett.

He said he and Boykin then began fighting - "scuffling" and "rolling" on the street. He said he felt some "pressure" on his left side while they were rolling, but it wasn't until later when his group went to the hospital that Reese realized he had been stabbed four times - in his left arm and torso.

Reese said that while he was fighting with Boykin, "all I know De'Von was fighting another guy." The description he gave of the other guy matched that of Neely.

He said a female bystander alerted him to look at Pickett, who was "passed out on the ground." He stopped fighting and looked at Pickett. Then, Boykin started coming after him again and Reese said he ran away. As Boykin was chasing him, Reese said Boykin told him: "When I catch you, you're going to be dead like your man."

Stanton Lacks, one of Boykin's two attorneys, argued for homicide charges to be dismissed, saying testimony showed Boykin was not fighting with Pickett.

Handrich asked the judge to "look at the evidence in its totality." Municipal Judge David Shuter agreed with the prosecutor that Kincy identified Boykin as the person fighting with Pickett.

Handrich said afterward that authorities believe Boykin first stabbed Pickett, then got into the fight with Reese. He said Neely and Torain have not been charged because there is no evidence they conspired in the stabbings, which authorities contend were committed only by Boykin.

Evidence showed that the men in both groups, except Kincy, were involved in some way in the physical fight, Handrich said.