Trial Begins For Teen In Oak Park Cop Killing
A murder trial is underway for 18-year-old Jonathon Belton, accused of killing Oak Park police officer Mason Samborski almost two years ago.
In opening statements Monday, Oakland County assistant prosecutor Ken Fraze sad Belton took control of the gun and shot officer Samborski in the head during their struggle at the apartment complex
Fraze said what happened was no accident. "Even if it were an accident, accident is not a defense to the crime of involuntary manslaughter," Fraze told the jury.
Fraze said Beltonwas on top of the officer and had control of the gun when he shot and killed him. "The gun was less than an inch from the head of officer Samborski," he said.
Disputing the accounts, Defense attorney Geoffrey Feiger claims Bolton was trying to escape from the officer, that his hand hit the gun in the course of the struggle.
"When a kid runs, you don't pull out a gun," Fieger said.
Fieger claims a lack of evidence, coercion of a witness and a rush to conviction will prove his client was part of a tragedy, not a murder.
"The sadness and tragedy here, ultimately, is the betrayal here by the government -- this double standard that when cops die, someone has to pay," Fieger said.
Belton faces life in prison without parole if convicted of first degree murder.
The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.
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