Eduardo Guilbert, a longtime friend of homicide victim Todd "T-Rek" Thomas, testified Friday in Superior Court in Norwich that he was having a few drinks at the Bella Notte nightclub on Dec. 23, 2006, when a friend called to tell him Thomas had been shot.

Guilbert, a 46-year-old New London native, was called to the witness stand as prosecutors continued to present evidence at the murder trial of Gerjuan "Cali" Tyus and Darius "P-Nut" Armadore.

The state alleges the two men conspired to kill Thomas and that Armadore shot him as he stood outside of Ernie's Cafe on Dec. 23, 2006.

Guilbert testified that the friend who called him asked him to call Thomas' wife, Keri Carter-Thomas, and tell her Thomas had been shot. He said he made the call.

"I told her she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible," he said.

Guilbert stayed at Bella Notte, and about 15 to 20 minutes later, he testified, Gerjuan "Cali" Tyus came into a Norwich nightclub with a light-skinned black man.

Guilbert said he declined Tyus' offers to buy him a drink and take a picture with him.

Guilbert said he left the club and went to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, paid his respects to Thomas' grieving family members and left.

The state alleges the two defendants fled New London in a gray rental car after the shooting and went to Bella Notte, where they attempted to establish an alibi.

Guilbert said he had known Tyus for a few years and was able to point to him and identify him in the courtroom Friday. He said he had never seen the light-skinned black man who came into the club that night.

In court, he was not asked to identify Armadore, who is a light-skinned African-American.

Jurors also learned Friday from Leila Timn, a forensic examiner at the state laboratory, that Thomas and Armadore could not be eliminated as contributors to a DNA sample collected from the suspected getaway car.

Detectives who processed the gray rental car for evidence had labeled the sample taken from the right front interior passenger door "blood-like substance" because it looked like dried blood.

Under cross-examination by defense attorneys John E. Franckling and Christopher Duby, Timn acknowledged that the samples had tested negative for blood.

Prosecutor Paul Narducci asked Timn whether blood is the only source of DNA.

She said it could come from multiple sources, including skin cells and saliva.

"Could you get in from brain tissue?" Narducci asked. "Yes," Timn responded.

The defense attorneys made the point that the forensic testing could not identify when the DNA sample was left in the car.

Earlier this week, Chief Medical Examiner James Gill had testified that Thomas was shot from a range of six to 18 inches from a high-velocity weapon that could have resulted in "blow black" of blood and tissue from the gunshot entry and exit wounds.

Tyus' DNA also was found in the car, according to testimony, and his fingerprint was found on a plastic water bottle recovered from underneath the front seat.

The car had been rented by his live-in girlfriend who included his name as an additional driver on the rental agreement.

The trial will resume on Tuesday, and the state expects to wrap up its case by mid-week.

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN