SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) A key prosecution witness in the manslaughter trial of Jayson Williams told jurors Monday the former NBA star attempted to transfer a slain driver's fingerprints to his shotgun moments after the fatal shot was fired.

Kent Culuko, a friend of Williams, said he was standing by the door of a bedroom and that Williams uttered an expletive moments before driver Costas ``Gus'' Christofi was killed with single shotgun blast.

Culuko said Williams ordered him to move the shotgun after ``trying to lightly touch Gus's fingerprints to the gun.''

His testimony was the first by someone present in Williams' bedroom since the trial started three weeks ago.

Williams, retired center for the New Jersey Nets, is accused of recklessly handling his shotgun, and then attempting to make the shooting look like a suicide and persuading others to lie that they were downstairs when Christofi was shot in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2002.

Williams' defense maintains that the shooting was an accident, suggesting he did not know Christofi had entered the room and that the weapon malfunctioned.

Defense lawyers are attempting to show that Culuko, not Williams, organized a failed cover-up, based on cross-examination of many of the prosecution's 20 witnesses to date.

Last week, two state troopers and two friends, including Culuko's brother, testified they heard Williams order his guests not to talk to police about the shooting until his lawyer arrived.

Three witnesses said they entered the bedroom after the shooting and saw Williams wiping down the shotgun, with two saying they saw him try to put it in the hands of the dying man. One of the three witnesses said they also saw Culuko wipe the shotgun, while another said they saw Culuko handle the shotgun.

Culuko, who pleaded guilty to evidence and witness tampering, faces probation under a deal with prosecutors.

Williams, 36, faces eight charges, including aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering, that could carry up to 55 years in prison. The least of the charges carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison, but would likely result in probation.

Williams retired from the Nets in 2000 after a decade in the NBA, unable to overcome a broken leg. He was suspended from his job as an NBA analyst for NBC after the shooting.