It’s a very simple concept.
A group of people are charged with a crime, the prosecution will always go for the biggest fish and try to turn his friends against them regardless if they were the main perpetrator or not.
It happened to Tupac, Michael Vick and many others. So, it isn’t crazy to think even though Darren Sharper and his co-defendant Erik Nunez are charge with the same crimes, the prosecutions will try to turn Nunez against Sharper.
Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk explains on how a such a scenario would happen.
The presence of Nunez and his subsequent prosecution give the authorities an potentially significant edge in their effort to secure a conviction of Sharper. Cut a deal with Nunez, who testifies against Sharper, and Sharper goes away for a long, long time — regardless of the outcome of the other cases in the other jurisdictions, where without a witness who was in the room and wasn’t drugged an “if it doesn’t fit you must acquit” outcome becomes more likely.
In those other jurisdictions, Nunez also could be a key witness. At a minimum, he can testify about “other bad acts” of Sharper in Louisiana (that’s Rule 404(b) for the aspiring lawyers in the crowd). Nunez also can provide testimony about things Sharper may have said to Nunez about drugging and raping other women in other states (that’s not hearsay, under Rule 801(d)(1)(A)).
No one knows exactly how good of friends Sharper and Nunez are, but best friends have been turned in the past, so there is no guarantee that Nunez will stay quiet.