A 29-year-old man awaiting sentencing for a fatal stabbing in New London implicated LaShawn R. Cecil in the murder of Jaclyn Wirth at Cecil's trial Monday, saying he wants to "clean his heart" and hopes to reduce the lengthy sentence he expects to receive in his own case.

Cecil, 36, is on trial in Superior Court for the Dec. 14, 2011, shooting death of Wirth at her Norwich apartment.

On Monday, prosecutor Stephen M. Carney, who is wrapping up the state's case against Cecil, called Andrew "Papo" Aviles to the witness stand. Aviles, who is awaiting sentencing for the 2012 stabbing death of Javier Reyes, is one of several convicted felons who helped Norwich police and the Southeastern Connecticut Cold Case Task Force build a case against Cecil.

Aviles testified that he had known Cecil since 2003 or 2004, when they met through mutual associates. He said in the spring of 2012, he went to Cecil's apartment to buy marijuana and ended up hanging out and smoking with Cecil. Aviles said Cecil pulled out a black handgun with rust on it. Aviles said when he asked if he could hold the gun, Cecil told him no because it was "dirty."

Aviles said Cecil told him he went to Wirth's apartment looking for her boyfriend, Michael Boyce, who was incarcerated at the time. He said his friend Billy drove him to the house and they were looking to retaliate because Boyce and his associates had attempted to rob Billy. Aviles said Cecil told him he had shot "this girl, Jackie" by mistake. 

The state alleges that Cecil went to Wirth's apartment with William Colello and Harold "Haas" Butler.

Aviles' story contradicts earlier testimony in which another convicted felon, Luis Burgos, said he had purchased a 9mm handgun from Cecil in the hours after the Wirth homicide. Burgos had testified that upon hearing about the Wirth shooting the next morning, he dismantled the gun and threw it into the Thames River. Burgos led investigators to a fishing spot off Route 12 in 2015. A state police dive team found a gun magazine, but no gun, after conducting a five-day search.

Aviles said Cecil referenced the Wirth shooting on two other occasions. He said they were in a prison holding cell together and Cecil was "trying to preach" to an Asian kid.

"He said, 'You gotta switch your life up, because one mistake and you'll be in jail for the rest of your life, like us,' '' Aviles testified. Aviles said he asked Cecil another time about the gun, and Cecil said that his associate Harold "Haas" Butler had thrown it off a bridge in Groton. He said he asked Cecil about his homicide case and Cecil said it was looking good because the state had for evidence only a few females and two people who had been incarcerated.

During cross examination, defense attorney Christopher Duby stressed that Aviles is hoping he will receive a sentence reduction in his federal case because of his cooperation in the Cecil case, which is being tried in state court. Aviles said he will be sentenced to 24 to 30 years in prison in his case and is hoping for a reduction based on his cooperation .

"Would your heart be clean if you only went to jail for 10 years after you killed someone?" Duby asked. "Yes sir," Duby responded.

In his cross-examinations of police investigators, Duby has been attempting to cast suspicion on an early suspect in the Wirth killing, Sean Lindo, who was later ruled out by police. Lindo was 6 feet 2 inches tall, the height of a man that a neighbor said he saw entering the Wirth apartment shortly before the shooting. Cecil is 5 feet, 7 inches tall.

The trial resumes on Tuesday.

k.florin@theday.com