State will seek to prosecute Benton as an adult

The latest in the case of Ashley Paige Benton, the 16-year-old girl charged with murder in the June 6 stabbing death of a teen during a Montrose gang fight: Harris County prosecutors said this morning they will seek to have her tried as an adult. A hearing on whether to certify her as an adult is set for a week from today:

[State District Judge Pat] Shelton told Benton this morning that he bases his certification decisions on the alleged crime, the sophistication of the juvenile, his or her previous history and public safety.

Rick DeToto, Benton's lawyer, said he would prefer the case remain in juvenile court, but acknowledged that state requests to certify are usually approved. Certification usually occurs in murder trials where the defendant is between 14 and 17 years old; according to the state Juvenile Probation Commission, a juvenile certified to be tried as an adult faces the same range of punishment an adult could face for the same crime, though a juvenile can't get the death penalty for a crime committed before he or she turned 17.

Benton has been in custody since early June. Early on, DeToto asked that she be held because he said she would be in danger if she were released; earlier this month, he asked for her release and was denied. He maintains Benton acted in self-defense when she stabbed 15-year-old Gabriel Granillo during the gang attack at Chew Park.