Williams Won’t Testify

Jurors in Jayson Williams’ manslaughter trial could begin deliberating next week after the one-time NBA All-Star said Wednesday that he would not take the stand and the defense rested its case.

“I’m innocent,” Williams told Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman. “I put my trust in God. I have great confidence in this jury.”

Williams, 36, is charged in the fatal shooting of a chauffeur in the master bedroom of Williams’ country estate in Hunterdon County in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2002.

The defense argues that the shooting was an accident, the weapon in Williams’ hands at the time having malfunctioned. The prosecution charges that Williams acted recklessly, with indifference to human life.

A key prosecution witness was former Clipper center Benoit Benjamin, who offered perhaps the most incriminating testimony against Williams, a former New Jersey Net teammate. Benjamin testified that Williams cursed at the driver, Costas “Gus” Christofi, before snapping shut an opened shotgun. The gun fired, Christofi was hit in the chest and the driver died within minutes.

On Tuesday, a private detective testifying for the defense alleged that Benjamin asked for money or a job in exchange for giving the defense a statement.

The detective, Adam Mangino, said he told Benjamin that the defense “would not be involved in any bribe, kickback or payoff.” Mangino was one of five witnesses the defense called. The prosecution called 36, among them four members of the Harlem Globetrotters, including Benjamin.

The four players and five of Williams’ friends were visiting Williams’ palatial home, part of a 65-acre estate in Alexandria Township, when Christofi, 55, was shot and killed. Christofi had driven part of the group to the house.

In its eighth week, the trial was scheduled to resume today with prosecution rebuttal witnesses. Closing arguments are expected to begin as early as Tuesday, Coleman told jurors.

Williams faces eight charges, the most serious being aggravated manslaughter, and could face up to 55 years in prison if convicted. Among the charges: that he attempted to mislead investigators by attempting to make the shooting look like a suicide and tried to persuade others to lie about what happened.

Williams, a television analyst for a short time after his NBA career was cut short in 2000 because of a leg injury, told the judge that he decided not to testify after consulting with his attorneys and his wife. His wife, Tanya, is a lawyer.