Testimony begins in Craigslist cellphone murder trial

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A fateful journey for 41-year old Rene Balbuena and his 15-year-old son began when they responded to a Craiglist ad offering a smartphone for sale.

The trip to meet the seller ended with Balbuena's murder.

In opening statements Monday, the deputy district attorney described an intricate patchwork of evidence against the alleged killer.

The prosecution alleges Ryan Roth, then 17, was a gang member known as Casper and that he and an associate Markell Thomas had set up a scam.

The bait was a Samsung phone they advertised on Craigslist. They set the price just low enough to reel in a buyer. Then they directed the buyer to a quiet location, where Roth and his partner allegedly moved in to take cash and other valuables at gunpoint.

The prosecutor says the duo's level of violence escalated. On Monday, victims in two previous robberies testified that they were ripped off by the defendants in the same way.

"They set a trap. The evidence will prove nothing more, nothing less for these unsuspecting victims," Deputy District Attorney Arthur Leahy told the jury.

Roth's defense is that he is not a gang member and he has an alibi.

"Undisputed evidence will be that on the day of this robbery, he was working at McDonald's," defense attorney Anthony Willoughby said.

The defense also raised questions about the victims' ability to identify Roth. One man who testified could not point Roth out in the courtroom as one of the robbers.

The prosecutor though says he has plenty more evidence and it will come from Roth's alleged partner.

Markell Thomas has taken a plea deal: 26 years in state prison. He will testify in support of the prosecution, a deal denounced by the defense.

"Markell Thomas cut the deal of life and continues to deflect the blame," Willoughby said.

The prosecution noted the waste of a life. After Balbuena was shot, the suspects fled without taking a thing.

The trial is expected to last two weeks. Prosecutors say their final witness may be the 15-year-old boy who witnessed the murder of his father.