WORCESTER — New evidence emerged yesterday in the murder trial against Patrick Powell, causing a judge to suspend testimony for the day.

Under cross-examination, state Trooper Craig Brabham presented a written statement from Rachel Columbo. Neither defense attorney John G. Swomley nor prosecutor Eduardo Velazquez had seen the statement from Daniel Columbo's younger sister.

"I believe I am prejudiced in this trial by virtue of not receiving this document," Swomley told Judge John McCann.

Powell, 19, is charged with fatally stabbing Columbo during a street fight in 2006.

On the eighth day of testimony, McCann said he wouldn't allow for the case to be dismissed, but gave lawyers the rest of the day to compare evidence and witness statements.

"We have to move the ball forward," McCann said.

Rachel Columbo's written statement surfaced as Swomley questioned how the trooper interviewed witnesses.

Joshua Phipps testifies at Worcester Superior Court.

WORCESTER — Before Daniel Columbo was fatally stabbed in 2006, the four teens charged in the murder were terrified Columbo and his older friends were going to kill them, one of those four testified yesterday.

Joshua Phipps said Columbo, 21, and his pals had warned, "Watch your back" and made threats as part of a beef between the groups over some stolen marijuana, a hostage-taking involving a sledgehammer and other problems.

"We were all scared, yes, but we didn't talk about it," Phipps, who is charged as an accessory in Columbo's death, told the jury sitting on Patrick Powell's murder trial in Superior Court.

"You were scared silly, right?" asked Powell's attorney John G. Swomley.

"Correct," replied Phipps, who, like Powell, was 16 when Columbo died.

He testified one of Columbo's pals, Jason Hutchinson, at one point had threatened that another, Branden Ruggerio, was going to shoot Powell with a gun.

Phipps testified he, Powell, Vinnie Ruscitti and Steven Carvalho had been invited to fight Columbo and his buddies at Fino Field two days before the murder. They had a gun, baseball bat and hammers ready, but chickened out and never showed, although Columbo and his friends may have, he testified.