Derrick Harris goes on trial in killing of his half-brother in Pasco

NEW PORT RICHEY — When the body of 18-year-old Anthony Granton was discovered at the bottom of a Dumpster near Ridgewood High School, authorities put the cuffs on his older half-brother.

Derrick Harris had alerted them to the body by calling 911 from a convenience store nearby, and used a fake name. In interviews with detectives, he told inconsistent stories about when he'd last been with Granton that September weekend in 2008. When they asked about Granton's cell phone, he first said he hadn't seen it, then admitted he was using it the night Granton was shot in the back of the head.

"After he killed his brother, he did exactly what you would expect him to do. He tried to cover it up," Assistant State Attorney Chris Sprowls told jurors Tuesday, the opening day of Harris' trial.

The state's main evidence: Granton's blood found in the trunk of the white Honda Civic the brothers shared.

But that's where the evidence ends, defense attorney Willie Pura told the jury. Harris' clothes from the night of the killing and the next day were tested, and no blood was found. His hands were never tested for gunpowder residue. The Civic, Pura said, had been driven by numerous people the night Granton died.

"There's no fingerprints, there's no DNA, there's no gun," he said.

Sprowls did not offer a definitive motive for the killing, but some witnesses may testify that it was a gang initiation. Harris had been at a party of the Valentine Bloods on Sept. 26, 2008, the night Granton was killed.

Pura said it was the gang that was responsible for his death.

"He upset, disrepected a member of them and they exacted revenge," Pura said.

Christopher Ross was one of the first witnesses to testify Tuesday. He said Harris had tried to buy a gun from him two weeks before the murder. Ross didn't sell it to him.

Then, the day Granton's body was found, he heard from Harris again.

"He told me they found his brother," Ross testified.

He offered to go with Harris to the scene.

What was his demeanor? Sprowls asked.

"Worrisome, panicked," Ross said.

Harris, 25, is charged with second-degree murder and faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted. The trial continues today.

Molly Moorhead can be reached at moorhead@sptimes.com or on Twitter at @mollymoorhead.