Trial in death of 5-year-old Kason Guyton begins Wednesday

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Opening statements will be presented Wednesday morning in the trial of the accused killer of 5-year-old Kason Guyton, fatally wounded during a car-to-car shooting in 2017.

17 News will live-blog the proceedings.

Jonathan Knight, 35, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and numerous other offenses. If convicted, he faces life behind bars.

Co-defendant, Jeremy King, 31, pleaded guilty earlier this month to voluntary manslaughter and is expected to testify.

Prosecutors say King drove a vehicle that followed the vehicle in which Kason was traveling, and Knight fired shots from the front passenger side.

Both Kason and his then-7-year-old brother were hit. The brother survived.

Their mother’s boyfriend — the driver of the vehicle they were in and a documented member of the East Side Crips — is believed to have been the intended target. He was uninjured.

Knight and King were active members of a rival gang at the time of the shooting, police said.

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