Attorneys will deliver closing arguments Thursday at the murder trial of Miguel "Mikey" Vega in New London Superior Court.

Vega, 32, is on trial, for the second-time, for the March 23, 2010, shooting death of Rahmel Perry and the nonfatal shooting of Michael Ellis Jr.

At Vega's first trial, in February 2015, a 12-member jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

State's Attorney Michael L. Regan rested Wednesday on behalf of the state, and moments later defense attorney Robert Kappes rested without calling any witnesses.

The attorneys will sum up their cases for the jury Thursday morning, and the 12-member panel will begin deliberating after receiving instruction from Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed.

At the trial, five witnesses pointed to Vega and said he and another gunman forced entry into an apartment at 53 Prest St. and opened fire.

Ellis Jr., the surviving gunshot victim, was scheduled to testify on Tuesday but refused to take the witness stand.

Court Officer Martha Jenssen read Ellis' testimony from previous court proceedings into the record, and on Wednesday, New London Police Detective William Pero testified that Ellis, from his hospital bed at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, had identified Vega as the shooter and picked him out of a photo array. 

Ellis and others initially identified another man — Vega's brother, Jonathan Colon — as the second gunman, but Colon was never charged.

The shooting, witnessed by a group of friends and relatives of the victims, was preceded by a brawl earlier in the night at The Galley restaurant in downtown New London.

In earlier statements, Ellis told police Vega motioned him to move away from Keyirah Kirkwood, the mother of Vega's son. Ellis said he didn't move and Vega hit him, sparking a brawl that involved Perry and several others, and left Ellis with a black eye.

Ellis, Perr, and several others gathered at the Prest Street apartment after the downtown brawl.

The witnesses said they heard a loud boom as the two gunman forced their way into the apartment. 

They said Vega ordered everyone to the ground, pulled a bandana from his face and fired a shot in the direction of a window from which a woman had jumped.

The witnesses said Vega crossed the room and shot Perry, who had dived onto a couch. Vega is then accused of pursuing a fleeing Ellis onto the street and shooting him.

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN