Trial has begun for one of two Buckeye teenagers accused in the carjacking-murder last year of an off-duty Arizona Department of Corrections officer.

Benjamin Bruce Cannon, 16, is being tried as an adult in the shooting death of Bradley Gerrard, 28, on Oct. 18, 2008.

The victim, a Buckeye resident, was shot at close range on Tartesso Boulevard during an apparent carjacking just blocks from his Tartesso home, police said.

Prosecutors believe Gerrard was killed after he stopped and got out of his car to offer assistance to one of two teens who was lying in the roadway and pretending to be injured.

They believe the other teen was hiding with a shotgun while waiting for somebody to stop.

Cannon, who has pleaded not guilty in the case, and Felix Dennis Vasquez offered conflicting statements to police accusing the other of being the shooter.

Under Arizona law, both can be held equally responsible for the murder, regardless of who pulled the trigger.

Cannon's trial, which began Thursday, is being held in downtown Phoenix before Judge Roland J. Steinle of Maricopa County Superior Court.

The jury trial is expected to last through the rest of the month.

Vasquez, 17, is awaiting trial. The date is expected to be set Dec. 1 during a status conference before Steinle.

The two suspects are charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, auto theft and arson. The death penalty is not an option because of their age.

Authorities believe the pair wanted to steal a car to drive to a party in Goodyear. Several hours later, police found Gerrard's car in the desert a few miles away burned and abandoned.    Source West Valley View