NEW YORK — Law enforcement officials in Maryland scooped up Matthew "Scar" Allen early Wednesday morning, but the prosecution in the Puff Daddy-Shyne trial rested several hours later without the potential star witness — who had been a fugitive since January — taking the stand.

Matthew "Scar" Allen — who allegedly started the argument that led to the Club New York shootings — would testify that both Sean "Puffy" Combs and Jamal "Shyne" Barrow fired guns in Club New York on December 27, 1999, prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos said in asking Judge Charles Solomon to put the trial on hold until Friday. Bogdanos said it might take that long to transport Allen from Maryland to New York.

The judge denied the request, and Bogdanos rested his case shortly after noon Wednesday.

But the prosecutor said if he manages to get Allen to New York by Thursday morning, he will ask the judge to allow him to re-open the case and have the witness testify. If not, Bogdanos may call Allen as a rebuttal witness after the defense rests its case.

The defense is expected to begin presenting its case Thursday morning, following legal arguments outside the presence of the jury Wednesday afternoon.

Allen, a fugitive since January, was arrested in Maryland on three Brooklyn, New York, warrants unrelated to the Combs case, Bogdanos said. Just a day earlier, Allen's lawyer, Kenneth Schreiber, said he had no idea where Allen was (see "Missing: One Key Witness In Puffy Trial").

Combs lawyer Benjamin Brafman accused Bogdanos of "poisoning the well" by revealing the content of Allen's potential testimony. It's not clear, Brafman said, whether Allen will ultimately testify.

"He's certainly someone who should give testimony in front of the jury," Judge Solomon said Wednesday morning.

Witnesses have testified that just before the shooting, Allen screamed threats at Combs, and he or one of his associates threw money at the rap impresario.

Lawyers for Combs and his co-defendants Shyne and bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones, have said in court that Allen, not the defendants, should take the blame for instigating the Club New York shootings, which wounded three people. They've also suggested that Allen and the people with him at Club New York had guns, and that .40 caliber bullets found at the club could be linked to him or his friends.

On Tuesday, Allen's lawyer disputed the defense's portrayal of his client.

"I don't think they know very much about him," Schreiber said. "They have specific interests — their clients are on trial [and] their clients are alleged to have reacted to a situation." The defense case is expected to cover about six days of testimony.

The judge has said he hopes for closing arguments to be made the week of March 5.

(Click HERE for a complete explanation of the charges in the case. Click HERE for our complete trial coverage.)