Benton's attorney targets gang member's story

Testimony from a series of gang members continued Monday in the trial of Ashley Benton, the teenage girl accused of stabbing another teen to death during a gang fight at Chew Park last summer — but this time, a member of the gang with which Benton was reportedly associated testified for the prosecution, saying that he hoped doing so would protect him from retribution from MS-13, the rival gang.

The Crazy Crew member, who calls himself "Cartoon," told jurors he was surprised and scared when MS-13 members ran through Chew Park on June 6, 2006, carrying bricks, baseball bats and machetes (the fight reportedly began when Crazy Crew members drove past a CVS store where MS-13 members were parked and threw gang signs at the rival gang members). "Crazy Crew is a gang, but MS-13 is a real gang, aren't they?" defense attorney Kent Schaffer asked Cartoon. Through the day, Schaffer questioned Cartoon about at least 36 lies he admitted telling police while they were investigating the case and pointed out inconsistencies in the gang member's story, which differs from that of other witnesses. For example, Cartoon said Benton stabbed the victim, MS-13 member Gabriel Granillo, while Granillo held a brick over his head trying to hit a gang member who was behind Benton. Other witnesses to the stabbing have testified that Granillo was holding a bat, not a brick. "According to this witness, Granillo never had the bat, never came into contact with the bat at the time he was stabbed or thereafter," Schaffer said. "Scientific evidence will show that this guy is an absolute, hundred percent liar."

Benton, who is being tried as an adult and could face life in prison if convicted, claims she stabbed Granillo in self defense.