The New Brighton teen believed to have mistakenly shot and killed his best friend in a Port Richmond street fight five weeks ago was indicted today on murder and other charges.

Staten Island Advance/Michael OatesDetectives escort Drew Casseus from the district attorney's office last week for processing at the 120th Precinct stationhouse.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The New Brighton teen believed to have mistakenly shot and killed his best friend in a Port Richmond street fight five weeks ago was indicted today on murder and other charges.
Investigators say that on Dec. 28, Drew Casseus slayed Jonathan (Beans) Vazquez, who was brawling with another man outside 192 Port Richmond Ave.
Casseus had allegedly pulled out a gun to back up Vazquez and shot his pal’s adversary, a 21-year-old parolee, in the leg. However, one bullet hit Vazquez in the head, killing him, law enforcement sources said.
Casseus, 19, of Jersey Street, then went on the lam for about a month, before authorities nabbed him last week at the home of his aunt in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant section.
Members of the NYPD/U.S. Marshals Fugitives Task Force arrested Casseus after what one law enforcement source said was a "very thorough investigation" involving computer database work.
Casseus’ aunt told the Advance she didn’t know he was wanted by police.
After his arrest, Casseus confessed both in writing and on video tape to firing the gun in the direction of Vazquez and the other man as they struggled, said a law enforcement source today.

Victim's pal in custody after fatal Dec. shooting on Staten Island street Drew B. Casseus, 19, is escorted out of the District Attorney's office by detectives. Authorities believe Casseus accidentally shot his friend Jonathan Vazquez, also 19, in the head by mistake during a Port Richmond street fight on Dec. 28. Watch video

The victim’s mother, Luna Suarez, told the Advance her son and Casseus had been friends since childhood. The two thought of each others as brothers and Casseus had lived with Vazquez’s family for three years. The teens even shared each other’s clothing, she said.
After the incident, Ms. Suarez publicly implored Casseus to turn himself in. She also begged that no one retaliate on her son’s behalf.
Two weeks ago, Ms. Suarez pleaded during a candlelight vigil in Port Richmond for neighborhood youth to end street violence. She repeated that call upon Casseus’ arrest.
The 10-count indictment charges Casseus with two counts of second-degree murder — one count under the "depraved indifference" part of the penal code, which accuses him of killing the victim while firing at another person; the other under the intentional homicide part of the statute.
He’s also accused of first- and second-degree manslaughter, attempted murder, three counts of assault and two counts of criminal weapon possession. Casseus could face 25 years to life if convicted of second-degree murder.
The suspect is slated to be arraigned Feb. 9 in state Supreme Court, St. George, said a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.
Online state court records show Casseus pleaded guilty in Stapleton Criminal Court in September to petit larceny stemming from an Aug. 24 incident. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years’ probation, those records said.
Eugene Lamb, Casseus’ lawyer in the murder case, declined comment on the indictment.