Jayson Williams Trial

A lot of facts are out now.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1750951


Benjamin's credibility attacked on cross

SOMERVILLE, N.J. -- A former teammate of Jayson Williams testified Thursday that the former NBA star pulled the trigger on a shotgun he had snapped closed, killing a van driver who had been touring his mansion.


"Did I see Jayson pull the trigger?" Benoit Benjamin responded to a question by defense lawyer Billy Martin. "Yes, I saw him pull the trigger."


The exchange came as Martin attempted to have a reluctant Benjamin hold the shotgun and demonstrate how Williams handled the weapon.


Also Thursday, another former teammate from the New Jersey Nets, Christopher Morris, became the fourth witness to testify that Williams wiped down the gun after the shooting and tried to put it in the hands of the stricken driver.


During a cross-examination that lasted nearly four hours over two days, Martin attempted to weaken Benjamin's testimony by suggesting Benjamin was a liar who sought a job in exchange for favorable testimony in his manslaughter trial.


Benjamin denied any extortion, and insisted that he and others lied to protect their friend after a gun Williams was handling discharged, killing a van driver during a tour of the Williams mansion.


Benjamin told jurors Wednesday that he saw a shell in the open shotgun that Williams was holding in one hand, and that Williams had a finger near the trigger as they stood in the master bedroom.


Moments later, Williams faced Costas "Gus" Christofi, uttered an expletive-filled phrase, snapped the gun closed, and the weapon fired, Benjamin said.


The defense maintains the shooting early on Feb. 14, 2002, was an accident.


In the four-plus hours Wednesday that Benjamin folded his 7-foot, 270-pound frame into the witness stand, he bolstered several points that prosecutors believe demonstrate that Williams showed recklessness when he picked up the shotgun:



Williams drank wine during a late dinner after he and friends watched a Harlem Globetrotters game in Bethlehem, Pa., said Benjamin, who said he was on a 10-day contract with the team in an effort to get another shot at the NBA. His 15-year career there ended in 2000. Christofi had driven Benjamin and three other Globetrotters to the restaurant.



Leaving the restaurant about 2 a.m., Williams drove the Globetrotters to his estate in nearby Alexandria Township. "He was driving erratic and speeding," Benjamin said. "I said a prayer. I wanted God to protect me."



Williams changed his clothes after the shooting, Benjamin said.



At the house, Benjamin said he and Morris and Harold Paul Gaffney were in the bedroom when Williams took a shotgun out of a gun cabinet and faced Christofi. Benjamin said he was standing about 3 feet away from Williams when he saw the shell. Williams unleashed an expletive-laced outburst at Christofi, who was about 4 feet from him, demanding to know what Christofi was doing in the room, calling him a "stoolie," Benjamin said.


At a prosecutor's insistence, Benjamin reluctantly held the shotgun in front of the jury to demonstrate how Williams held the weapon. Defense attorney Joseph A. Hayden Jr. noted that Benjamin put a finger all the way through the trigger guard. Benjamin said he could not recall exactly where Williams' finger was.


"He flicked the gun up and it fired," Benjamin said.


Christofi bled to death within minutes, a medical examiner has testified.


Benjamin's testimony was the first from a witness who said he was in the bedroom.


Benjamin admitted that he lied in the initial sworn statements he gave police. "I wanted to help my friend," he said. "I lied, like all of us lied."


He decided to tell the truth about two months later, making a deal to testify in exchange for immunity from prosecution. The three other Globetrotters have made similar deals, the prosecution has told the jury.


After the shooting, Benjamin, 39, said he was put on leave by the Globetrotters, but hoped Williams could get him a job, perhaps on one of the teams he sponsored. "Jayson knows a lot of people," he said.


But in a series of sharp exchanges with Martin, Benjamin denied he threatened to cause trouble for Williams "unless he put some money in your pocket."


"I've got nothing against Jayson," he said. "I'm happy for Jayson."


Williams, 36, faces eight charges, including aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering, that could carry up to 55 years in prison. The least of the charges carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison, but would likely result in probation.


Williams retired from the New Jersey Nets in 2000 after a decade in the NBA, unable to overcome a broken leg suffered a year earlier in a collision with a teammate. He was suspended from his job as an NBA analyst for NBC after the shooting.

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What do you think?

I think any regular person would have to spend many years in prison.

8 years (of course, no probation) would be the absolute minimum, in my opinion, based on what is known so far. In fact, the attempts to mess with the evidence should be detrimental to Williams' case.