By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com
The defendant in a purported gang slaying at a Meadowview house party two years ago took the witness stand today and denied that he had anything to do with it.
"I ain't never went in...I stayed back," Marvel Barksdale testified in Sacramento Superior Court, saying that he remained in the backyard when shooting broke out in the living room of the party house on Detroit Avenue.
Two witnesses at the trial identified the 17-year-old defendant as the shooter and a third said she saw him with a gun at the party on the Aug. 22, 2008, night when Robert Haynes was shot to death.
Police and prosecutors say the fatal shooting resulted from a dispute between the Meadowview-based Guttah Boys and the Fourth Avenue Bloods of Oak Park.
Haynes, 16, had been affiliated with "FAB," but had been more focused on sports and academics at Sacramento High School at the time of his death, school officials said.
Barksdale denied being a member of the Guttah Boys. He said he was affiliated, however, with G-Mobb that serves as a south area umbrella gang that includes elements of the Guttah Boys, law enforcement officials say.
Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.
Previous coverage:
Fourth reluctant witness jailed in Sacramento gang shooting trial - May 22, 2010









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