Kason Guyton Trial: Prosecution says brutal killing of 5-year-old Kason Guyton stemmed from rival gang altercation at Bakersfield mall

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Seven years after the tragic death of 5-year-old Kason Guyton, prosecutors said his brutal killing was the result of a disagreement between rival gangs hours prior.

Years of evidence, presented in court, detail all the prosecution found to implicate 35-year-old Jonathan Knight as the shooter who killed 5-year-old Kason Guyton and shot his 7-year-old brother Bryan Guyton Jr. in the leg.

The shooting took place in February 2017 and prosecutor Eric Smith says it stemmed from an earlier altercation at the Valley Plaza mall between rival gang members of the West Side Crips and East Side Crips.

Knight and co-defendant, Jeremy King, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to voluntary manslaughter and is expected to testify, are both West Side Crips gang members. According to Smith, hours after the altercation Knight and King drove and followed the vehicle in which Kayson was in, and Knight, fired 16 shots from the front passenger side.

“Jonathan Knight is guilty of the murder of Kason Guyton, the murder of a five-year-old,” said Prosecutor Eric Smith. “Murder based on a disagreement that happened at a mall, that led to the death of a five-year-old.”

Smith said King, the driver, and Knight, the shooter, intended to shoot the driver of the other vehicle, which was the boyfriend of the boys’ mother, a member of the East Side Crips. He was uninjured.

Images, wiretaps and videos shown to jurors depicted Knight’s gang activity and behavior before the shooting, but footage of a shooting Smith says Knight was apart of two years after killing Kason was one of the most jarring, as multiple shots are heard.

Smith tells jurors, “based on this video, they observe Jonathan Knight was at this location as well.”

Reminding the jury of the several shots the night of the shooting that killed Kason, surveillance footage depicted King, hiding the gun Knight allegedly used during the shooting, in a trash can the next day.

King will take the stand to tell his side, and the defense said this is King’s way of pinning the shooting on Knight.

“It’s Mr. King’s car, it’s Mr. King’s gun, it’s Mr. King’s beef. You saw that presentation, it’s mostly what they know about King. But, if he puts him in that car, he goes home,” said Defense Attorney Timothy Hennessy.

Both King and Knight know what happened the night of the shooting, with King taking the stand, his recount could be some of the most critical testimony in the trial.

Knight is charged with first degree murder and numerous other charges. He faces life in prison.

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