A New London Superior Court judge is raising the specter of a conflict of interest involving a law firm representing two Norwich brothers, one charged with murder and the other who could be called as a witness in the case.

Judge John Newson on Thursday asked Attorney Drzislav Coric of the Traystman & Coric law firm and Assistant State's Attorney Christa Baker to “prepare to dig in and discuss any potential conflicts in real detail.”

Coric is representing Atlantikh and Vullnetar Balidemaj, both of 158 Case St., in unrelated criminal cases. Atlantikh Balidemaj, 22, is charged in the 2022 murder of 30-year-old Jashira Pagan.

Newson said though the siblings' criminal cases are unrelated, the two men's relationship — and the fact they've retained the same law firm — could be an issue “witness-wise” if Atlantikh Balidemaj's murder case heads to trial. Baker is prosecuting both cases. Pagan's critically injured body was found on the grounds of the Uncasville Condominiums complex in Norwich with a gunshot wound to her face on Nov. 5. She was taken off life support and died on Nov. 7.

According to an arrest warrant application, Vullnetar Balidemaj told police he received a frantic phone call from his brother on the morning of the shooting, asking him to pick him up from Pagan's apartment building.

During a second call to Vullnetar Balidemaj that morning, Atlantikh Balidemaj again asked to be picked up, police said. During that call, Vullnetar Balidemaj told police he heard what he described as

screaming in the background.

“I really need you to come get me right now,” Atlantikh Balidemaj told his brother, according to the warrant application. “I don’t want to be here. It’s a very bad situation.”

In addition to murder, Atlantikh Balidemaj also faces charges of carrying a pistol without a permit and illegal discharge of a firearm. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Days before the fatal shooting on Nov. 1, Vullnetar Balidemaj, 21, was arrested by Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Police after officers responded to a reported threatening incident in a Foxwoods Resort Casino parking garage, according to a police report.

Police said they later found a Glock-style 9mm “ghost gun,” or one without legal identification marks, inside Vullnetar Balidemaj’s vehicle. He pleaded not guilty to charges of illegal possession of a motor vehicle, carrying a pistol without a permit and illegal alteration of a firearm.

Vullnetar Balidemaj is free on a $20,000 bond, while Atlantikh Balidemaj is being held on a $5 million bond. Both men are due back in court on Nov. 6.