Jury deliberating in Central Islip man's murder trial

The Suffolk County jury in Lavelle Todd's murder trial began deliberating Todd's fate at noon Tuesday in Riverhead.

Prosecutors said Todd, 20, of Central Islip, shot and killed another Central Islip man, Robert Adams, 18, on May 26, 2008, during a community gathering called "CI Day" at the Central Islip Recreation Center.

Two other men were injured in the shooting.

Todd, an alleged member of an offshoot of the Bloods street gang, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree gang assault and first-degree assault.

Todd's attorney, John LoTurco of Huntington, said in closing arguments Monday that Todd began shooting in self-defense when a rival gang member reached for a semiautomatic weapon in his waistband.

Adams was not Todd's intended target, LoTurco said.

Prosecutor Robert Biancavilla said in his summation Monday that Todd shot Adams through the heart.