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.