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Death of Gabriel Granillo

On June 6, 2006, a teenage MS-13 gang member named Gabriel Granillo was stabbed to death at Ervan Chew Park, in the Neartown district in Houston, Texas. His killer, Ashley Paige Benton, underwent a criminal murder trial which resulted in a hung jury.

Benton's lawyers and the assistant Harris County district attorney agreed to give Benton probation, in exchange for Benton pleading guilty to aggravated assault. Her probation was ended early in 2009, and her criminal charge was to be dismissed as part of terms of successfully completing her probation.

In 2008 Skip Hollandsworth of Texas Monthly referred to Benton as "Houston’s most famous teenage killer" and stated that the fact that the stabbing took place in the central city, and the fact that Ashley Benton was a white, Anglo teenage girl involved in gangs shocked Houstonians.

The Houston Press wrote that the resulting murder trial "fascinated Houston". In 2014 Andy Warren of the Houston Chronicle listed the Granillo stabbing among the "infamous crimes in the Houston area". A 2011 novel, The Knife and the Butterfly, is based upon the incident.

Background

Ashley Benton was a student at Lamar High School and socialized with members of the gang "Crazy Crew." According to police reports, it mainly engaged in low level crime. Hollandsworth described it as, compared with other Houston gangs, not "much of a gang".

Benton, previously a student at Lanier Middle School and Hogg Middle School, moved to live with her grandmother in a suburban area in northwest Houston, and attended Cypress Creek High School. However she returned to her mother's Montrose residence and enrolled in Lamar in April 2006. Prior to the incident Benton had no arrest record. She was 16 years old at the time of Granillo's death.

Gabriel Granillo, 15 at the time of his death, was the child of Salvadoran immigrants. His mother had died, and his father, an illegal immigrant, was arrested in the summer of 2005 over a felony conviction and deported. With his parents gone, Granillo stayed with his older brother and a friend. Granillo became a member of MS-13 at age 14, and he was previously incarcerated in the Harris County Youth Village, a juvenile detention facility in Pasadena, Texas, near the city of Seabrook.

The stabbing and immediate aftermath

According to Hollandsworth, the apparent reason why MS-13 and Crazy Crew had a gang fight was because a Crazy Crew member harassed the cousin of an MS-13 member.

The Montrose area and Lamar High School were considered to be Crazy Crew's territory. MS-13 appeared at Lamar High School in order to intimidate Crazy Crew, but Houston Independent School District (HISD) police asked MS-13 members to leave.

Eyder Peralta and Claudia Feldman of the Houston Chronicle wrote that if HISD police had called the Houston Police Department (HPD), "it's possible the stabbing could have been prevented." The members of the two gangs met at a CVS pharmacy and chased each other around before they stopped at Ervan Chew Park, located in the Neartown district, in proximity to Montrose.

The park, previously known as Dunlavy Park, was by 2006 cleaned of drugs and crime due to rehabilitation efforts; it became popular with area families as the surrounding neighborhood gentrified. That year the Houston Chronicle stated that Chew Park was "better known for Little League games and dog parties".

Members of the two gangs fought one another, and the numbers of gang members totaled around 20-30, with the number of Crazy Crew to MS-13 about 2 to 1. Benton stated that she felt threatened by a person who was coming towards her.

MS-13 gang members said that Granillo was turning away from her. Benton stabbed Granillo with a double-bladed knife, killing him. The 5.5-inch (140 mm) blade had punctured Granillo's heart, traveling at an upward angle below the sternum. Granillo was declared dead at the park.

Avelardo Valdez, a University of Houston professor of social work, stated "It's very unusual for a woman to be involved in this kind of violent gang confrontation."

At Chew Park HPD officers took the people with Granillo to question them. Police obtained a confession from Benton at her residence. One of Benton's lawyers stated that the confession was illegal since Benton was questioned without her mother. No lawyers were present during the confession. The girl was arrested at that residence.

John Cannon, a spokesperson for HPD, described the Ervan Chew area as "relatively low-crime" and that his patrols "were surprised" by the incident. Sue Lovell, a member of the Houston City Council who represented the area, and someone who knew Benton, described it as "an isolated incident".

Rich Wilson, an HPD sergeant operating from the Neartown Storefront, told residents that the stabbing was an "isolated gang activity" and that the park is safe and surveilled. The Neartown Association president, Allen Ueckert, stated that the community was "on heightened alert". Immediately after the stabbing the usage of the park declined.

The following Saturday HPD arrested an MS-13 member attempting to create a memorial at the site of Granillo's death, citing graffiti as the reason.

Criminal trial

Benton underwent a murder trial in which she was tried as an adult, and she had the possibility of receiving probation or 5 years to life in prison. She was originally to be tried as a juvenile, and under that scenario she could have been sentenced to up to 40 years in prison, but Texas state district judge Pat Shelton transferred Benton to adult court, after the prosecutors petitioned to have Benton tried as an adult. She was transferred from the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center to an adult jail, but was allowed to post bail and stay under house arrest one week later.

Benton's lawyers in her 2007 trial were Rick DeToto, Kent Schaffer, and Brian Wice, described by Hollandsworth as "prominent". The district attorney (DA) of Harris County, Texas at the time was Chuck Rosenthal. Police officers conducted searches of bags and used wands to check for metal, as well as posting armed police around the courtroom, due to concerns that MS-13 may try to attack Benton.

Brian Rogers of the Houston Chronicle stated that the "basic facts" surrounding Granillo's death "were undisputed". The dispute was regarding the nature of the death. Mia Magness, the assistant district attorney, accused Benton of deliberately trying to attack Granillo, while Benton's attorneys stated that Granillo was not running away from her and that the MS-13 members saying that she attacked Granillo were lying.

One MS-13 member, after questioning from Schaffer, admitted that he did not see Granillo running away. The prosecutor stated that the taped confession had her admit that Granillo was trying to leave, while her lawyers stated that Benton gave conflicting information in the confession.

This trial resulted in a hung jury. About half of the jury members sided with Benton and the other half were against her after two days of deliberating the case. One of Benton's lawyers stated that five jurors believed Benton was guilty of murder while seven instead wanted to convict her of possession of a prohibited weapon. Magness disputed the lawyer's account but did not say what the outcome was. Devon Anderson, a state district judge, declared a mistrial, ending the proceedings.

The trial ended on June 29, 2007.

Plea deal

The prosecutors offered a plea deal calling for a murder conviction with no prison time and 10 years of deferred adjudication. If Benton successfully completed this term, the conviction would be voided, but if she failed, she would be convicted of murder and therefore face 5-99 years of prison or life in prison. Benton's lawyers rejected the deal. Devon Anderson ordered a retrial with jury selection scheduled for June 4, 2008.

The judge entered a gag order preventing Schaffer and Wice from making statements favorable to Benton. The two lawyers asked the Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Texas to remove the gag order and all of the members agreed to remove it. Afterward the prosecutors offered a plea deal more generous than the previous one available.

Craig Malislow of the Houston Press wrote that the decision from the appeals court had "an in-depth exploration of state and federal case law regarding gag orders and freedom of speech."

Benton's lawyers and Magness agreed to give Benton probation, in exchange for Benton pleading guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, in December of that year. As part of the deal she was to receive five years of deferred adjudication probation, perform 300 hours of community service, and obtain a high school diploma and/or GED certificate. A violation of the terms of probation would mean being convicted of aggravated assault and facing up to 20 years in prison.

Benton completed 300 hours of community service, stayed under probation for two years, and paid for Granillo's funeral with $4,000. In 2009 Kevin Fine, a Texas state district judge, ended Benton's probation early in 2009. As part of the terms of successful completion of the probation, her criminal charge was to be dismissed.

Tulio Martinez, Granillo's uncle, stated that the deceased's family was unhappy with the plea deal.

Media coverage

In 2006 Claudia Feldman and Eyder Peralta of the Houston Chronicle wrote the article series "The Butterfly and the Knife," documenting the death of Granillo and the lives of Benton and Granillo.

James T. Campbell, an employee of the Chronicle, wrote that some readers accused the newspaper of publishing a racist series or trying to garner sympathy for Benton, and that "Most readers who contacted me were indifferent or baffled about why we chose to prominently feature "two losers on the front page of the Chronicle.""

One individual accused the Chronicle of airing the series because Benton was white. Campbell defended the series, saying that the series "had value, I think, as a cautionary tale for the community, parents and law enforcement about a group of kids that we have lost or are losing to society's underbelly."

Legacy

Granillo was given funeral rites and buried in Candelaria de la Frontera, El Salvador.

After Benton accepted the plea deal in 2007, Schaffer stated that the girl had continued to receive death threats from MS-13, so she needed to have a "fresh start" and move to a new place. Benton began studying for her GED and moved back into her grandparents' residence. For safety reasons she did not travel often and she did not visit her former neighborhood.

In 2009 Victor Gonzalez of the City of Houston Mayor's Anti-Gang Task Force stated that the city government established a police presence and used surveillance to prevent gangs from re-establishing themselves at Chew Park. Further gentrification had occurred in the area by then.

The 2011 novel The Knife and the Butterfly by Ashley Hope Pérez is based on Granillo's death. The book's title is derived from that of the Houston Chronicle series.

Sue Lovell argued that school systems should do more to prevent gang activities and that teenagers need to be supervised after school.

In a 2009 opinion piece in The Daily Cougar, University of Houston communication major student Jared Luck wrote that people dismayed by youth crime should try to help troubled teenagers, and that "probation for all but the most hardened criminals is only going to become more commonplace.

3 years after gang killing, teen wants to 'move on'

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

September 17, 2009

Ashley Paige Benton, a teenager who fatally stabbed a gang member during a melee in Montrose in 2006, hugged her lawyers and the prosecutor who tried to put her in jail for murder after a judge on Thursday ended her probation three years early.

“I'm just very grateful, and I'm happy that I'm able to move on with my life,” Benton said. “I would just like to continue my schooling and get a career and, hopefully, move on and not have to look back.”

State District Judge Kevin Fine agreed to end Benton's probation early after two years of court-imposed restrictions.

Benton completed 300 hours of community service and raised $4,000 for the victim's funeral.

In court, her attorneys said she worked to raise the money but did not have a job now. They were tight-lipped about where she had worked and where she lives because of gang threats on her life.

Benton, now 19, said she didn't know what she wanted to do professionally or what her immediate plans were.

Fine's decision ends a four-year chapter of Benton's life that began June 6, 2006, when she stabbed Gabriel Granillo, a leader of the gang MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, with a double-bladed knife during a gang fight.

A year later, she was on trial for murder with Assistant Harris County District Attorney Mia Magness grilling her about how she landed the “lucky shot.”

During the trial, which ended with a hung jury, Magness questioned Benton for more than an hour, asking her why she lied to police about several facts in the case. Benton seemed close to breaking down in tears several times.

The 12 jurors could not agree whether Granillo was swinging a bat at Benton or running away.

Magness said it was murder. Benton's attorneys said it was self-defense.

Six months later, Magness and Benton's lawyers reached a plea bargain rather than re-try the case.

Benton pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and received five years of deferred adjudication.

Victim's family absent

Granillo's family did not appear to be in the courtroom Thursday and could not be reached for comment afterward.

When Benton originally agreed to the plea deal, Granillo's uncle, Tulio Martinez, said he was not happy with the sentence.

“My family is pretty upset with the decision and the punishment she got,” Martinez said in 2007.

Art Martinez, a cousin of Granillo's father, wanted Benton to serve at least 20 years in prison.

“I know she's just a teenager, but she still knew what she was doing,” Art Martinez said at the time.

Hugs all around

When Fine granted the motion to end her probation early, Benton hugged Brian Wice, one of her lawyers, then seemed to surprise Magness with a hug.

“It doesn't happen every day, but it's not unheard-of,” Magness said. The veteran prosecutor said she was actively involved with Benton's probation but declined to elaborate.

Wice said Magness kept a close watch on Benton's progress.

“She took an active interest in Ashley's welfare during the time that Ashley was on deferred (adjudication), and I want to commend Mia and her office for recognizing that what happened today was absolutely the right thing for everybody concerned,” Wice said. “Being a prosecutor is more than putting people in the penitentiary.”

Benton also was flanked Thursday by attorney Kent Schaffer, who led the defense during the 2007 trial and questioned most of the witnesses.

“All the court really did today was what everyone agreed to do at the time we entered into this deal, which was that she not get into trouble for two years and her probation would be early terminated,” Schaffer said. “She fulfilled her part, the state fulfilled their part, and the judge blessed it.”

Teen gets probation in stabbing death

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

December 7, 2007

Ashley Benton was all smiles Friday after she pleaded guilty to stabbing to death a rival gang leader 18 months ago in a fight at an inner-city park.

But the relief at escaping a prison sentence was tempered by the specter of revenge at the hands of the notorious gang her victim belonged to.

Defense attorney Kent Schaffer said 17-year-old Benton continues to receive death threats from Gabriel Granillo's gang, the well-known MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha.

"Because of her notoriety and the possible threats from MS-13, the safest thing to do is go to a new place and make a fresh start," Schaffer said. "That's something she and her family will be deciding over the next few weeks."

Benton pleaded guilty to a lesser charge than murder in exchange for five years of deferred adjudication, a sentence that could mean two years of probation or 20 years in prison.

Benton agreed to deferred adjudication, which means the guilty plea will not be on her record if she completes probation. If she is a model probationer, she could be off of it in two years, Schaffer said.

If she violates probation, the conviction would be put on her record and she could be sentenced to 20 years in prison. A conviction on the murder charge would have carried a maximum possible punishment of life in prison.

Talks with past jurors

Prosecutors said they made the decision to give what some considered a light sentence after talking to jurors in Benton's June trial.

"After some extensive discussion with the jury that previously heard the case," Assistant District Attorney Mia Magness said, "we reached the conclusion that this was the right thing to do."

The two-week trial ended in a mistrial after a hung jury deliberated for 18 hours.

Magness said the agreement was an appropriate resolution and she believed justice was done.

"All the state ever asked for in the case was for her to accept responsibility," Magness said. "She's accepting responsibility, she's being held accountable for the death of Gabriel Granillo."

Granillo's uncle, Tulio Martinez, said he was "not too happy" with the sentence. "My family is pretty upset with the decision and the punishment she got," said Martinez.

Art Martinez, a cousin of Granillo's father, called the sentence "pitiful."

A fair sentence, he said, would have been for Benton to serve at least 20 years in prison.

"I know she's just a teenager, but she still knew what she was doing," said Art Martinez.

The basic facts in the case were undisputed. Benton, then 16, met 15-year-old Granillo on opposite sides of a summer afternoon Montrose melee between MS-13 and Montrose gang Crazy Crew.

Granillo had a baseball bat, Benton had a double-bladed $8 knife. The two had a confrontation in the middle of the brawl. She plunged the 5 1/2 -inch blade into his chest just below the sternum at an upward angle and punctured his heart.

The question jurors had to decide was whether he was swinging the bat at Benton or running away. Prosecutors said it was murder. Benton's attorneys said it was self-defense.

Benton was scheduled to begin a new trial as early as Jan. 4, the impetus for the plea bargain now, Schaffer said.

The terms of the plea bargain require Benton to pay up to $4,000 restitution to cover costs associated with Granillo's funeral. Benton must also obtain a high school diploma or GED, submit to random drug and alcohol testing, and perform 300 hours of community service.

In front of state District Judge Devon Anderson, Benton answered questions directly and said she was pleading guilty because she was guilty. Afterward, Benton hugged her attorneys and waited patiently for her paperwork to be processed.

Benton and her family were not available for comment, but another of Benton's attorneys said they felt relief, not jubilation, when the settlement was announced.

"There's no celebration," Rick DeToto said. "A young lady went through hell, and a young man is not here anymore. Ashley is still dealing with the psychological effects of what happened. She feels remorse, regret but also that there's a burden off her back."

One expert, however, said Benton's freedom still hangs in the balance.

'Scared straight'?

South Texas College of Law professor Adam Gershowitz said deferred adjudication is sometimes referred to as "DA layaway," because defendants often face harsh punishment in the end.

He said authorities grant deferred adjudication because offenders often get in trouble on probation, landing themselves in jail.

Gershowitz also said the agreement is a great deal for Benton, "if she can keep her nose clean."

"Maybe her attorneys had a serious talk with her and got through to her," Gershowitz said. "Maybe she'll be scared straight."

Chronicle reporters Robert Stanton and Claudia Feldman contributed to this report.

Benton could get plea deal, retrial

Mistrial was declared after jurors were deadlocked for hours over the verdict for teenage girl who killed a boy in park gang fight

By Brian Rogers and Steve McVicker - The Houston Chronicle

June 30, 2007

As one juror broke down in sobs and two others started to cry, state District Judge Devon Anderson declared a mistrial Friday in the Ashley Benton murder trial, saying the jury had been deadlocked for six hours.

Anderson set a hearing in two weeks to determine how to proceed against Benton in the killing of a rival gang's leader. Both sides said they will evaluate their positions. The case could be retried or a plea deal may be struck.

As the 17-year-old sobbed in the arms of her attorneys, the judge told the jurors they had done a good job and thanked them for their service before excusing them.

They deliberated almost 18 hours after listening to evidence in the week-and-a-half-long trial for the stabbing death of MS-13 gang leader Gabriel Granillo in a melee in a Montrose park on June 6, 2006.

The eight men and four women had been sequestered for two nights after beginning deliberations at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Benton was released on $40,000 bail and remains under house arrest.

Her attorneys argued that the teen stabbed the 5-foot-10-inch Granillo in self-defense after he swung a bat at her twice.

Prosecutors said Granillo was running away from the fight, "abandoning the encounter" when Benton "caught" him with a double-bladed knife, burying it 5 1/2 inches into his chest, piercing his heart.

One of Benton's trial lawyers said seven jurors did not believe she was guilty of murder. The jury also considered a charge of illegally carrying a deadly weapon, a Class A misdemeanor.

"We had one not guilty across the board, five (voted for) guilty of murder, six (for) guilty of (the lesser count of) possession of a prohibited weapon," attorney Brian Wice said. "So our position is, seven jurors thought that she was not guilty of murder."

Prosecutor Mia Magness disagreed with Wice's assessment after talking to jurors for about an hour, but declined to clarify what jurors told her about the split.

Chaos at Montrose park

The Ervan Chew park gang fight involved members of a local clique of international gang MS-13 and Montrose-area gang Crazy Crew.

Eyewitnesses said the combatants, mostly teenagers, had bats, golf clubs and at least one machete. Most witnesses in the trial said the fight involved a lot of chasing around the park.

According to most accounts, the only strike in the fight, other than Benton stabbing Granillo, happened after a Crazy Crew gang member threw a bat at a fallen MS-13 member who then hit the Crazy Crew member in the head with the bat.

The most compelling testimony came from Benton herself, first in an audiotaped statement from the day after the incident played by the prosecution, then from Benton on the witness stand.

In the taped statement, Benton said she "caught" Granillo as he turned away. On the stand, she emphasized that Granillo was swinging a bat at her.

Wice said he hopes both the prosecution and defense can take a step back and examine what the state's case would consist of during a second trial.

"I would hope that after a cooling off period, there can be a meeting of the minds about what the proper disposition of this case should be, short of a second trial for murder," Wice said.

Wice pointed out that most of the jury felt that Benton was only guilty of the possession of a prohibited weapon charge, a Class A misdemeanor.

"That would be an equitable disposition," Wice said.

Veteran Houston defense attorney Troy McKinney believes that, regardless of which way the jury split, the mistrial is good news for the Benton team, which included Rick Detoto and Kent Schaffer.

"I think it will be much harder for the prosecution next time," McKinney said.

"They've played all their cards. There's nothing else to play," he said. "The defense is what the defense was, and still is. I mean, self-defense doesn't change. And the fact that (the prosecution) wasn't able to convince the jury this time, after a long deliberation, doesn't bode well for next time — if there is a next time."

Agreeing with that analysis, former juvenile prosecutor Shelby A.D. Moore, a professor at South Texas College of Law, said a hung jury in this case bodes better for the defense than it does for the prosecution.

"What you realize is that those jurors were not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that this young woman should be convicted of murder — and they didn't do it."

Chronicle reporter Cindy George contributed to this report.

Mistrial declared in gang-killing case

By Brian Rogers and Steve McVicker - The Houston Chronicle

June 29, 2007

State District Judge Devon Anderson this afternoon declared a mistrial in the Ashley Benton murder trial, citing a hung jury.

The 17-year-old was charged in the death of 15-year-old Gabriel Granillo, a member of the MS-13 gang. Benton, who was affiliated with the Montrose gang Crazy Crew, said she stabbed him in self-defense during a gang fight in June 2006. Prosecutors said Granillo was running away from the fight when he was stabbed.

Benton cried as Anderson declared the mistrial. One of the jurors broke down in tears.

The two sides are set to meet in two weeks after evaluating their positions to determine how to proceed. They may have a retrial or they may make a plea deal, defense attorneys said.

According to one of Benton's trial lawyers, seven members of the jury did not believe she was guilty of murder.

"We had one not guilty across the board, five (voted for) guilty of murder, six (for) guilty of (the lesser count of) possession of a prohibited weapon," attorney Brian Wice said. ``So our position is, seven jurors thought that she was not guilty of murder.''

Prosecutor Mia Magness disagreed with Wice's assessment after talking to jurors for about an hour, but declined to clarify what jurors told her about the split.

She said the district attorney's office would evaluate all of the information that came out in trial and make a decision about whether to retry the case in two weeks.

Wice says he hopes both the prosecution and defense can take a step back at this point and examine what the state's case would consist of during a second trial.

"I would hope that after a cooling off period, there can be a meeting of the minds about what the proper disposition of this case should be, short of a second trial for murder," Wice said.

He said that since most of the jury felt that Benton was only guilty of the weapon possession charge, a class A misdemeanor, "That would be an equitable disposition."

Veteran Houston defense attorney Troy McKinney believes that the mistrial is good news for the Benton team.

"I think it will be much harder for the prosecution next time," McKinney said. "They've played all their cards.

There's nothing else to play. The defense is what the defense was, and still is. I mean, self-defense doesn't change. And the fact that (the prosecution) wasn't able to convince the jury this time, after a long deliberation, doesn't bode well for next time - if there is a next time.'

Jurors began deliberating Benton's fate early Wednesday afternoon after listening to about seven days of testimony, including testimony from five gang members.

On Thursday, jurors asked several questions and wanted to see all physical evidence against Benton.

Evidence included a double-bladed knife Benton plunged 5 1/2 inches into Granillo's chest, piercing his heart. They also saw a bat with Granillo's blood on it that Benton said he swung at her twice before she stabbed him on June 6, 2006 during a fight at Ervan Chew park.

In addition to maps, diagrams and photos, jurors also got the audio statement Benton made to police a day after the stabbing - something both sides asked them to listen to. In closing arguments, both sides pointed to the tape as proof of what happened.

Communicating through notes to the court, the jury also asked several questions, including clarification on when they should put themselves into Benton's shoes, a legal question when determining self-defense.

They also asked to be read testimony from two eyewitness who saw the fight, but not the stabbing. The witnesses, a neighbor and a lifeguard who worked at the pool at the park, told tales of gang members running back and forth chasing each other in the middle of the afternoon fight.

Benton was 16 when she stabbed Granillo. Although she was a minor, Benton was certified to stand trial as an adult.

Jury deliberating Ashley Benton's fate

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

June 28, 2007

Jurors, who Wednesday saw prosecutors flash knives and defense attorneys swing bats in their closing arguments, continue deliberating today over whether a 17-year-old girl murdered a rival gang leader.

Jurors in the Ashley Benton murder trial were sequestered overnight, after beginning deliberations about 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Benton is accused of murdering MS-13 gang member Gabriel Granillo when she plunged a double-bladed knife into the 15-year-old's heart during a fight at a Montrose-area park.

"Gabriel Granillo had an appointment with death," defense attorney Kent Schaffer said. "It was either his or someone else's."

"It doesn't matter who the victim is," Assistant District Attorney Mia Magness said. "Saint or sinner."

Each side spoke for about an hour, pulling together seven days of evidence, including gang member testimony, the knife and a bat with Granillo's blood on it.

Lying on the stand

Jurors listened attentively, occasionally nodding as both sides made points about lies gang members admitted they told on the stand.

Schaffer reminded jurors that one member of MS-13, an international gang from El Salvador, told 36 lies while on the stand.

"There are people older than me that haven't told 36 lies in their whole life," Shaffer said.

Magness pointed out the obvious: When someone is killed in a gang fight, the witnesses are going to be gang members.

"You don't think I wish I could have picked my witnesses?" Magness said.

Both sides asked jurors to listen to Benton's audio taped statement detailing what happened during the fight at Ervan Chew park on June 6, 2006 — something the jury didn't do in four hours of deliberation Wednesday.

Throughout the trial, the defense has argued that Benton stabbed the 5-foot-10-inch gang leader in the middle of his chest in self-defense as he swung a bat at her. The prosecution has said that Granillo was running away when he was stabbed.

On the tape, Benton said Granillo was turning away, "when I caught him" — an image prosecutors tried to send the jury away with at the end of arguments.

"He couldn't run away because she 'caught' him," Magness said. "How do you catch something that's not running away?"

Schaffer said Benton misspoke each time she told the investigator that Granillo was "turning away" and "starting to run away." "Listen to the context," Schaffer said.

He said Benton explains that Granillo was turned in place after swinging the bat — not running away. "Listen to the tape."

Tone and demeanor

Magness asked jurors to listen to see if Benton was scared, nervous and in fear as the defense contended.

"She doesn't sound scared, nervous or in fear to me," Magness said. "Evaluate it for tone and demeanor."

On the tape, Benton can be heard talking in an animated voice and laughing occasionally about the events leading up to the stabbing.

As they closed their arguments, both sides asked jurors to side with them for different reasons.

"Every crime is a tragedy," Schaffer said. "But not every tragedy is a crime. This is classic self-defense."

"Tell Ashley Benton," Magness said, "that you murdered a boy who was trying to get away from you. And you weren't justified in doing it."

Benton faces a sentence ranging from probation to life in prison if convicted of murder.

Benton cool, crying during murder trial testimony

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

June 27, 2007

Tearful at times, but more often staying cool under fire, Ashley Benton on Tuesday described how she fatally stabbed a 15-year-old gang leader in a fight last June, saying she did it to protect herself.

With the double-bladed knife that killed Gabriel Granillo in her hand and with tears in her eyes, she showed how she stabbed the MS-13 gang member once in the heart after he swung a bat at her twice.

"I closed my eyes and just stabbed him," the 17-year-old said at the start of a long day of testimony.

On cross-examination, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Mia Magness asked her how she landed the "lucky shot."

"I wouldn't call it a lucky shot," Benton said.

"You hit him right in the heart and buried the knife to the hilt, didn't you?" Magness asked rhetorically.

Magness questioned Benton for more than an hour. Benton said she was nervous on the witness stand and at times seemed close to breaking down in tears under questioning from the prosecutor.

Magness went through Benton's statement to police almost line by line, asking her why she lied to police about several facts in the case, including where she went before the fight and what happened to the knife afterward.

"I don't know," Benton said of the reasons she lied.

Magness also reminded her that she told police five times that Granillo had started to turn around to run away when she stabbed him once in the heart.

Benton's attorney, Rick DeToto, worked to rehabilitate Benton's testimony by showing that she also told police Granillo was facing her.

In a demonstration for the jury, DeToto played the part of Granillo and twice waved an aluminum bat at Benton in front of jurors in slow motion. Then Benton showed jurors how she came across him with the knife.

"I was freaked out," Benton said. "I had blood on my hands."

Benton looked at jurors as she said she carried the knife for protection in what she considered a rough neighborhood.

"It's not safe for a young girl walking by herself in that neighborhood," she said.

Benton is on trial for murder in the stabbing, which occurred during a gang fight between MS-13 and Montrose-area gang Crazy Crew on June 6, 2006.

Benton's attorneys have said she stabbed Granillo in self-defense. Prosecutors have said Granillo was running away from the fight.

'A bad decision'

On the stand, Benton outlined the days before the stabbing at Ervan Chew park, which included two fights she watched before the "rumble."

She said the large gang fight started that afternoon when several gang members she was riding with responded to gang signs "thrown" by MS-13 gang members parked in a parking lot near Lamar High.

Benton said she wasn't a member of Crazy Crew, but was friends with several of the gang's members.

As she talked about them through the afternoon, she could only refer to them by their street names, unable to remember their proper names, even after several references.

She said she bought the knife that killed Granillo for $8 at a corner store near her house.

"It was a bad decision on my part," Benton said. She said she bought the "ugly" double-bladed knife to scare would-be attackers away.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone," Benton said.

During the fight, Benton took the knife out of her backpack where she kept it as she went through her day, including at school. Months before, Benton was disciplined at school when officials searched her backpack and found a different two-bladed knife.

After the stabbing, Benton and two friends ran to a nearby Mexican restaurant. A friend of Benton's took the knife and threw it into a bush.

Blood in the sink

Benton later retrieved the knife and cleaned it. She said she washed Granillo's blood off the knife in her bathroom sink.
When questioned by police the next day, she gave investigators the knife, but said it was a replica.

On the stand Tuesday, Benton was able to handle the knife without gloves during the demonstration. Both sides had agreed that no blood was on the knife that needed to be preserved as evidence.

Closing arguments in the case are expected today.

Victim was fleeing gang fight, Benton said in recording

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

June 26, 2007

In an animated voice punctuated with laughter, Ashley Benton said five times that MS-13 gang member Gabriel Granillo had started to turn around to run away when she stabbed him once in the heart.

"When he started to run away, that's when I caught him," Benton said on a taped statement played for jurors Monday in Benton's murder trial.

"He was trying to run away."

Prosecutors presented the tape as their last piece of evidence in the trial of 17-year-old Benton, who fatally stabbed Granillo in a Montrose-area park last June. Defense attorneys are expected to open their case today with other eyewitnesses. Benton may also testify in her own defense.

Benton shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the 25-minute-long audiotape played, then wiped tears from her face as her attorneys cross-examined Fil Waters, the Houston Police Department investigator who taped the statement about the gang fight on June 6, 2006.

Benton said Granillo, who according to court testimony was a leader in a local clique of MS-13, was still facing her when she "caught" him.

"I tried to scare him," she said on the tape made the day after the incident at Ervan Chew park. She said she was surrounded by gang members. She said Granillo swung at her head with a baseball bat, then swung at her body.

As he turned to run, she buried the blade of her knife to the hilt in his chest, authorities said.

Benton's attorneys have said she stabbed 15-year-old Granillo in self-defense in a gang fight between MS-13 and Montrose-area gang Crazy Crew. Benton was affiliated with the latter gang.

Prosecutors have maintained that Granillo was running away from the fight.

Benton said she and friends hurried away from the scene while Granillo was still walking around. She and her friends went to a Mexican restaurant. Later that night, Benton learned that Granillo died.

In his cross-examination of Waters, defense attorney Kent Schaffer walked jurors through possible scenarios including wildly swinging the bat to show how the wound might have been inflicted.

Jurors also saw one of Benton's double-bladed knives. Waters said that she showed the knife to him and said it was similar to the one she used to stab Granillo. She said that she no longer had that knife.

The knife's curved blades opened on both sides and the handle was designed to be held in a closed fist.

Monday began with testimony from a gang member who said he hopes speaking out against Benton will mean he can stop worrying about retribution.

"Cartoon," a member of Crazy Crew, said on the stand that he hopes his testimony — for the prosecution — will remedy any possible retribution against him and his family caused by Benton stabbing Granillo.

Schaffer questioned the gang member about his shock when members of MS-13 arrived at Ervan Chew park that June afternoon.

"Crazy Crew is a gang, but MS-13 is a real gang aren't they?" Schaffer asked. The gang member said he was scared and surprised as the rival gang ran through the park with baseball bats, bricks and machetes. He said he is still scared of the international gang.

Schaffer confronted the gang member about 36 "lies" within the statements Cartoon gave investigators about the day.

The gang member testified that Granillo was holding a brick over his head trying to hit another gang member who ran behind Benton.

He said Benton stabbed Granillo in the chest as he held the brick over his head.

Other witnesses said Granillo had a bat in his hand.

Benton, who was 16 at the time of the incident, was certified to be tried as an adult and faces a sentence ranging from probation to a prison term of five years to life if convicted of murder.

State District Judge Devon Anderson ordered that gang members' faces not be photographed or televised. Because of fear of retaliation for cooperating with authorities, prosecutors asked that proper names of gang members not be published.

Gang member hopes testimony will remedy retribution

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

June 25, 2007

Saying he fears for his life, a gang member said this morning that he hopes testifying against Ashley Benton in the slaying of an MS-13 gang leader will mean he can stop worrying about retribution from the rival gang.

"Cartoon," a member of Montrose area gang Crazy Crew, said on the stand that he hopes his testimony – for the prosecution – will remedy any possible retribution against him and his family caused by Benton stabbing 14-year-old Gabriel Granillo. Benton was affiliated with the Montrose gang.

Benton's attorneys have said she stabbed Granillo in self-defense in a gang fight. Prosecutors have said Granillo was running away from the fight.

Defense attorney Kent Schaffer questioned the gang member about his shock when members of MS-13 arrived at Ervan Chew park in the middle of the afternoon on June 6, 2006.

"Crazy Crew is a gang, but MS-13 is a real gang aren't they?" Schaffer asked. The gang member said he was scared and surprised as the rival gang ran through the park with baseball bats, bricks and machetes. He said he is still scared of the international gang.

Through a long morning of questions, Schaffer confronted the gang member about 36 statements Cartoon told investigators about the day.

The gang member testified that Granillo was holding a brick over his head trying to hit another gang member who ran behind Benton. He said Benton stabbed Granillo in the chest as he held the brick over his head.

Other witnesses said Granillo had a bat in his hand.

Benton, now 17, was certified to be tried as an adult and faces a sentence ranging from probation to a prison term of five years to life if convicted of murder.

State District Judge Devon Anderson ordered that gang members' faces not be photographed or televised. Because of fear of retaliation for cooperating with authorities, prosecutors asked that proper names of gang members not be published.

Fight was 'like Toys "R" Us,' gang member says

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

June 23, 2007

Defense attorneys plan to confront a Crazy Crew gang member on Monday with a line-by-line comparison of what he told authorities versus what he testified to on Friday in the murder trial of 17-year-old Ashley Benton.

Kent Schaffer said he plans to cross-examine the 19-year-old with previous statements to investigators.

The gang member, named "Cartoon," testified Friday that he saw Benton stab MS-13 gang leader Gabriel Granillo during a fight at Ervan Chew park. He described the scene with Granillo walking away, a central theme in the prosecution's case against Benton.

Her attorneys have said she stabbed the 15-year-old in self-defense as he swung a bat at her.

Cartoon testified Benton was one of the gang's "hang arounds" — a person who socialized with the gang but wasn't a member.

Earlier in the day, a 16-year-old MS-13 gang member regaled jurors with a wild tale of reckless driving, gang sign etiquette and the bat-throwing melee in which Granillo was fatally stabbed in the chest.

An obvious raconteur of the gang, "Greñas" (for his disheveled hairstyle) excitedly talked with his hands about details of the June 6, 2006, gang fight in Montrose.

He was the third member of the MS-13 gang to testify.

"It was like Toys 'R' Us," the gang member said during the prosecution's questions.

"They were throwing bats at us, running back for more bats, throwing them and running back for more. They had a lot of bats."

The gang fight between MS-13 and the Montrose-area gang Crazy Crew started after Crazy Crew members flashed their hands in gang signs as they drove past MS-13 members parked in a parking lot near Lamar High school, gang members have testified. Benton was in one of the Crazy Crew cars.

The MS-13 gang followed the Crazy Crew cars in a high-speed chase through Montrose, running stop signs and red lights, according to testimony.

The two groups ended up on opposite sides of Ervan Chew park, where they parked and began to fight, Greñas said.

The courtroom erupted in laughter several times during Greñas' colorful account of the day, but his responses were muted and low as defense attorney Rick DeToto cross-examined him.

Greñas said MS-13 gang members didn't fear Crazy Crew because they weren't a "real" gang. He agreed with other gang testimony that Crazy Crew members were "little kids from Lamar."

Benton, 16 at the time of the incident, was certified to be tried as an adult.

State District Judge Devon Anderson ordered that gang members' faces not be photographed or televised. Because of fear of retaliation for cooperating with authorities, prosecutors asked that proper names of gang members not be published.

Gang member says Benton chased him with knife

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

June 22, 2007

An MS-13 gang member testified Thursday that Ashley Benton chased him around a Montrose-area park with a knife before fatally stabbing another gang member in a fight last June.

The 19-year-old who goes by the name "Pajaro" or "Bird" is the second MS-13 gang member to testify in the murder trial of Benton, who has admitted to stabbing Gabriel Granillo. Benton, 17, claimed self-defense.

On a large pad in front of the jury, the witness drew a double-blade bladed knife with a blade extending from both sides of a closed fist. The knife was held in place with a strap.

Through a translator, the El Salvadoran national said Benton, who is associated with the Montrose-area gang Crazy Crew, swiped at him and tried to stab him with the knife as she chased him. He said she couldn't catch him.

"Bird" testified through the afternoon, and continued to say that Benton had chased him. However, he changed his story under cross-examination about several other things that happened on June 6, 2006. While he continued to say Benton chased him as he testified through the afternoon, "Bird" changed his story under cross-examination about several other things that happened on June 6, 2006.

He first said he didn't have a weapon and didn't slash the tires of a car belonging to a member of Crazy Crew.

After a break, he admitted to slashing the tires with a 4-inch blade he brought to Ervan Chew Park. He also changed his story about where he was in the park, and after the stabbing.

"Bird" said he didn't see the fatal stabbing, but saw 15-year-old Granillo fall as members of Crazy Crew continued to attack.

Benton's attorneys have said she stabbed Granillo after he swung a bat at her twice. Prosecutors have said Granillo abandoned the encounter and was running away from the fight.

Earlier in the day, Benton's defense lawyer held a baseball bat in a batter's stance and asked another MS-13 gang member to mark his shirt where he said he saw her stab Granillo.

The 20-year-old gang member known as "Cucaracha," or "Roach," marked the shirt under attorney Kent Schaffer's hands holding the bat up then had trouble explaining how Granillo was stabbed. He also didn't know whether Benton buried the knife in Granillo's heart with her right hand or her left.

During questioning, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Mia Magness pointed out that Granillo wasn't swinging the bat at Benton, a part of Benton's claim of self-defense.

In testimony peppered with "I don't recall" and "I don't remember," the gang member did little to clear up the different stories he told authorities throughout during the investigation into the gang fight.

When talk turned to his place in MS-13, he said he was a local member and had traveled to El Salvador, where the gang began. However, he flatly refused to discuss his rank in the organization.

State District Judge Devon Anderson forbade media from showing pictures of gang members who testify. Because of fear of retaliation for cooperating with authorities, prosecutors asked that proper names of gang members not be published.

Gang member tells how Benton stabbed teen

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

June 21, 2007

Gang leader Gabriel Granillo wasn't running away from a melee in Ervan Chew park when he was fatally stabbed in the heart, an eyewitness testified Wednesday in the murder trial of 17-year-old Ashley Benton.

The 20-year-old gang member known as "Cucaracha," or "Roach," said he saw Benton stab the 15-year-old leader of a local clique of the international gang MS-13 out of the corner of his eye while both were fighting off several members of the Montrose-area gang Crazy Crew.

"She came around him like this," the gang member said as he demonstrated with defense attorney Kent Schaffer how Benton reached around past the baseball bat Granillo was holding on his right and plunged the knife into his heart.

Benton's attorneys have said Benton stabbed Granillo in self-defense after he swung a bat at her twice.

Prosecutors have said Granillo had abandoned the encounter and was running away from the fight.

"He wasn't running away," the gang member said.

The witness and Granillo were members of Southwest Locos Salvatrucha, a Houston clique of the well-known international gang MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha.

Authorities testified that Granillo had attained a position of leadership in MS-13 and was a leader of SWLS, a fact that Cucaracha said he knew about.

Granillo gave orders

He said older gang members were taking orders from Granillo that day — June 6, 2006 — in the park.

On the witness stand, Cucaracha said the gangs clashed as the MS-13 members waited for a friend who, like Benton, was getting out of summer school at Lamar High about 2 p.m.

Members of Crazy Crew threw gang signs as they drove past MS-13 members parked at the nearby CVS pharmacy, Cucaracha said. The MS-13 members, in several cars, chased the two "Crazy Crew cars," one of which was carrying Benton.

They all ended up at Ervan Chew Park when the fight began in earnest after 15 members of Crazy Crew walked across the park, threw their bats at three MS-13 gang members and then ran back to their two cars for more bats, Cucaracha said.

"That's where we got the bats," the MS-13 member said.

In the middle of a long cross-examination Wednesday afternoon, Schaffer first asked the gang member to demonstrate how Granillo was holding the bat before he was stabbed.

The gang member held the aluminum bat in a batter's stance and said Granillo was surrounded by three gang members and Benton.

"Don't hit me," Schaffer said as the gang member choked up on the bat, a comment that made the jury laugh after an hour of tense exchange between the lawyer and the witness.

Schaffer later reminded the gang member that he originally said to police that "I never saw actually who stabbed Gabriel."

Earlier in the day, the gang member said he lied repeatedly to police about what happened because he "didn't want to get into trouble."

Gamut of emotions

The heavily anticipated testimony from the first of several gang members expected to testify in the trial ran the gamut — from remorse to indignation.

He said he and the boy's brother cried while investigators asked them about Granillo.

He said Granillo stumbled on the sidewalk, where he bled profusely, before fellow gang members tried to walk him to his car. Granillo fell again in the grass, where he took a deep breath, his eyes rolled back and he died.

"I knew he was dead," Cucaracha said. "I think he choked to death on his own blood."

State District Judge Devon Anderson asked the media not to publish pictures of gang members who testify in the trial. Prosecutors asked that names of gang members who fear retaliation not be published.

Security tight as Benton stabbing trial begins

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

June 18, 2007

When Ashley Benton walked out of jail almost a year ago after posting bail, she was surrounded by six deputies and escorted to a car because of a death threat from one of the world's most notorious and violent street gangs: MS-13.

As the 17-year-old girl's trial for fatally stabbing 15-year-old Gabriel Granillo in a Montrose-area gang fight begins today, authorities in the downtown criminal courthouse are bracing for gang members from both sides to attend as witnesses and spectators.

As Benton walked through the courthouse for pretrial hearings last week, she was escorted by two deputies, for her protection, her attorney said.

Benton was associated with the gang Crazy Crew when a fight erupted in Chew Park in June 2006 with members of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, of which Granillo was a member.

Benton has said she stabbed Granillo in self-defense after the boy swung a bat at her in the middle of the melee. She is charged with murder.

Prosecutors and the defense have said they will emphasize the teens' gang connections, and expect to call gang members to testify.

Violent reputation

MS-13 recently was implicated in a massacre in Honduras that left 28 people dead in 2004. In Houston, MS-13 has a violent presence that includes robbing, killing and human smuggling, said Caroline Dozier , one of the gang experts in the District Attorney's Office.

Like other gangs, she said, MS-13 is known for drug trafficking, carjacking and smuggling in illegal immigrants.

"Yes, they're dangerous. Yes, they're bad," Dozier said. "Just like any other criminal street gang, they're bad."

Crazy Crew is a small Hispanic gang in Houston's Montrose area, with membership passed from fathers and uncles to teenage boys, Dozier said. Because girls aren't allowed in Crazy Crew, Benton wasn't a member but was friends with alleged gang members, her attorneys have said.

MS-13 gang members are likely to wear jeans and T-shirts or jerseys with the gang's colors, blue and white, Dozier said.

Trend away from tattoos

She said active members generally range from age 15 to 25. And because MS-13 is moving away from tattooing, newer members might not have any.

Dozier said it's possible that none will show, because so many are in the country illegally, generally from Honduras and El Salvador, and don't want to risk deportation.

In a murder case last year, in which one MS-13 gang member testified against another, Dozier said none of the gang appeared to attend.

Should gang members appear upstairs, the Sheriff's Office will have extra personnel in and around the courtroom.

"Security is going to be a big concern," said sheriff's spokesman Lt. John Martin. He said the hallway in front of the courtroom will be cordoned off and spectators and witnesses will be "wanded" with a handheld metal detector.

The measure is a "redundancy" Martin said, because people entering the courthouse pass though an airport-like checkpoint with metal detectors and X-ray machines. County employees and some other courthouse workers don't have to pass through the detectors.

Besides additional bailiffs, Martin said he expects to involve the sheriff's Emergency Response Team, a small band of officers sometimes clad in military-style fatigues. He said the officers would probably wear regular uniforms in court.

Martin said cases warranting "heightened" security are common and ERT officers escort defendants, especially in capital murder cases, from their cell to the courtroom.

Security often upgraded

He said about 25 cases now have heightened security. Defendants in those cases may only come to court for a few minutes once a month. Others are in trial every day for weeks.

The Harris County Precinct 1 Constable's Office is responsible for security in the lobby and the area surrounding the Criminal Justice Center, while a private firm, Initial Security, runs the metal detectors at the front door.

"There will be an added presence (for Benton's trial), some of it seen and some of it not seen," said constable's Lt. Bill Ruland.

Additional officers will act as "spotters" in the lobby and through the courthouse to watch for troublemakers in the crush of people entering the courthouse every day at 9 a.m. He also expects foot and bike patrol officers outside to guard against a potential gang fight. Bomb-detecting dogs also will be involved, Ruland said.

Lead defense attorney Rick DeToto, who picked Benton up from jail when she was released last August, said deputies told him a "hit" had been issued on her in retaliation for Granillo's stabbing. He said armed deputies walked them to his car and stopped traffic as he drove away.

"It was pretty nerve-wracking," DeToto said. "And that carries over when things start heating up again.

Trial opens for teen in gang stabbing death

By Brian Rogers - The Houston Chronicle

June 18, 2007

As officers swarmed the hallways and courtroom where a 17-year-old girl is on trial for murder, attorneys on both sides told jurors this morning what they thought the evidence would show in the stabbing death of Gabriel Granillo.

"It's a fact that Ashley Benton killed Gabriel Granillo," defense attorney Kent Schaffer said. "And it's a fact that it was self-defense."

Prosecutor Mia Magness said Granillo was running away from a fight when Benton stabbed him through the heart.

Both sides agreed that the slaying took place during a gang fight between MS-13, a notorious international gang, and the Montrose-area gang Crazy Crew.

Because of the possibility of rival gang members testifying or watching the trial, security at the courthouse and around the courtroom was increased, including the use of canine units.

The extra measures included officers stationed in the hallway and in each corner of the courtroom. Security used hand held devices to scan spectators before they entered the courtroom.

The stabbing occurred June 6 of last year during a melee involving about 30 people at Ervan Chew Park in Houston's Montrose area.

Police said bats, golf clubs, tire irons and machetes were used during the fight. Benton was 16 at the time but was certified to stand trial as an adult.

Girl, 15, arrested in Houston gang death

By Mike Glenn and Jennifer Radcliffe - The Houston Chronicle

June 8, 2006

Houston police arrested a 15-year-old girl Wednesday night in the stabbing death Tuesday of a boy who police said was the victim of a rival gang.

"They did arrest a 15-year-old suspect. She has been arrested," HPD spokesman Alvin Wright said late Wednesday. He identified the girl as a suspect in the death of Gabriel Granillo. She was arrested at her home.

Meanwhile, police stepped up patrols in the neighborhood surrounding a Montrose park where Granillo, identified as having a gang affiliation, was beaten and fatally stabbed by rival gang members.

Officials are concerned that Granillo's death may spark episodes of violent retaliation at Ervan Chew Park, a popular neighborhood park in the 4500 block of Dunlavy, "even though we believe this (killing) to be an isolated incident," HPD Capt. Dwayne Ready said.

Granillo, identified by police as being 14 but whose family say was 15, was with two unidentified youths, including at least one thought to be a gang member, when they were ambushed at 2:30 p.m. at the park, HPD detectives said.

On Tuesday, police said they thought Granillo was in a gang, but on Wednesday said he was "affiliated" with a gang. The teen's family said Wednesday that he was linked with MS-13, which began in Los Angeles among Central American immigrants and now has tens of thousands of members spread throughout Latin America and the U.S.

About 20 to 30 members, primarily Hispanic, of a rival gang surrounded Granillo and attacked with several weapons, including baseball bats, tire irons and golf clubs.

The motive for the slaying remains unknown but investigators think the attack was planned. Because the larger group approached Granillo and the other teens from two sides, Ready said the assault appeared to be premeditated. "This wasn't just one of your random crimes of opportunity."

Although police have characterized the slaying as an ambush, a witness saw Granillo arrive at the park with a baseball bat in hand. Within minutes, he said, friends joined Granillo and the two other boys.

The witness, who did not want to be identified, said the two groups chased each other across the park several times before running into a nearby neighborhood, where they smashed car windows and slashed tires. The scene lasted "an intense 10 minutes," the witness said. "It just kept going back and forth," the witness recalled. "It was like they were fighting over the park."

After he was stabbed, Granillo stumbled about halfway through the park before collapsing near a sidewalk.

"It looked like he tripped over his own feet. He fell down and he never got up," the teenage witness said. "People were just running by him."

Police had described the person who stabbed Granillo as a young white female, about 5-feet-5 inches tall and weighing about 120 pounds. She has shoulder-length blond hair and was wearing a navy blue shirt and blue jeans, police said.

"We also believe there were a couple of Hispanic females with the larger group," Ready said.

Girls in gangs 'not new'

Though some may think street-gang membership is restricted to young men, police officials said that's not the case.

"There is a misconception about gangs that they're only juvenile males," Ready said. "Having a female be a gang member is not something new. It's less common than male gang members, but not new."

Granillo's last known address, police said, was at a Houston apartment complex in the 6200 block of West Bellfort, more than 10 miles from the park. It wasn't clear why he and the two others were at the park at the time, Ready said.

The two youths with Granillo are cooperating with investigators, Ready said.

"They have obtained some information (but) I can't go into the details," he said.

Some of the youths who attacked Granillo wore clothes with Lamar High School insignia but police didn't know whether they were students.

"I can't say with any certainty what high school they go to," Ready said. "I can only tell you with certainty that some of the individuals involved had attire that indicated Lamar High School on it."

School's gang policy

Students at Lamar High School say there are several youth gangs on campus.

"I see a lot of them wearing their colors and stuff," said Yousef Qutob, 16, a junior. "I don't see too many problems or too many fights, but I do see them throwing up gang signs."

Other students say they feel safe because administrators have cracked down on suspicious activity — including sending fighting students to alternative schools and ordering outsiders off campus.

"This school is very safe. They're really strict," Oyuki Lopez, 17, said. "Once they find out you're doing something bad, that's it — you're gone."

Lopez was disappointed that some of her fellow students may have been involved in the fatal fight, which happened less than 30 minutes after the first day of summer school dismissed.

"It's like they're fighting over the stupidest things you can think of," Lopez said.

HISD spokesman Terry Abbott would not comment about suspected gang activity at Lamar High or whether any students may have been involved in the ambush. "I can only say that our police increased patrols in the area," Abbott said.

Harris County Constables beefed up patrols and were circling the campus Wednesday afternoon, alongside district and city police officers.

"We're simply developing leads and we'll go wherever they lead us," Ready said.

Anyone with information is asked to call HPD at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

Chronicle reporter Anne Marie Kilday contributed to this report.