Benton case could be headed for retrial

Lawyers on both sides of the Ashley Benton murder trial are in court this morning for a hearing in which prosecutors were expected to say whether the intend to retry Benton on the original murder charge, try her on a lesser charge or drop charges altogether — or, perhaps, to accept a plea counteroffer from Benton's attorneys. Lawyers for Benton, who is accused of murder in the stabbing death of gang member Gabriel Granillo at a Montrose-area park last summer, said prosecutors offered them a deal yesterday that they declined. Though attorney Rick DeToto didn't discuss the specifics of the offer, he said Benton did not want to plead guilty to murder. Benton's lawyers have said the only offer they would consider is deferred adjudication, but prosecutor Mia Magness said earlier this year that she wouldn't offer it.

Benton's murder trial ended in a mistrial June 29 after jurors were unable to agree on a verdict, and though the defense's deal remains a possibility, defense attorney Kent Schaffer said he expects the case will go to a second trial. And if it does, Schaffer said the defense will be a step ahead: "The defense always has the advantage in a retrial. We know what their liars are going to say. We’ve heard it all before. Now we know what we need to disprove and we’ve got time to do it," he told KHOU.

At issue in the Benton case is whether the 17-year-old acted in self defense when she stabbed Granillo, 15, during the fight at Chew Park. Benton reportedly associated with members of the Crazy Crew gang, who got into a fight the afternoon of June 6, 2006, with members of MS-13; in the melee, which involved chains, tire irons and other weapons, Benton claims she stabbed Granillo to keep him from hitting her with a baseball bat. During the trial, prosecutors tried to convince jurors that Granillo was walking away from Benton when she stabbed him, but a series of gang members gave seemingly contradictory testimony — and the defense often brought out lies they had told police.

If a new trial date is set, it's not clear when it will be, but DeToto told the Chronicle that the defense "could go to trial tomorrow if we had to." The Chron couldn't reach prosecutor Mia Magness for comments.