Thomson Mayor Benji Cranford didn’t buy a bottle of gin for inmates. The bottle fell out of his car by accident, one of his lawyers said Monday.
That’s the version of events offered by Cranford defense attorney Tianna Bias in her opening statement.
The trial of Cranford, 52, for furnishing prohibited items to inmates and criminal attempt to commit a felony, got under way Monday after a jury was selected.
Jury selection revealed the challenges of finding a small-town jury. Several potential jurors noted friendships, blood relations or other connections to the first-term mayor. Cranford came to court with longtime former James Brown attorney Buddy Dallas, who everyone in the juror pool seemed to know. In the pool was also Cranford’s daughter-in-law, who announced she was due to give birth next week.
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Video from Monday, June 3, played by prosecutors for the jury showed Cranford leaving his car outside a Thomson liquor store while he bought bottles of vodka and gin. Seconds later, he drove the SUV across Old Washington Road into the approaching path of the inmate crew. He was observed by a guard, who promptly retrieved the unbroken bottle of gin.
Bias asked why Cranford would make such a visible purchase, using his debit card, at the liquor store he frequented, his long blond hair “on full display” for cameras, just to give inmates some gin.
Instead, Cranford stopped the car after he lost a bluetooth connection and opened the door to reconnect – and that’s when the gin fell out, she said.
Testimony continues at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the trial at the McDuffie County Judicial Center.
Bias and defense attorney Keith Johnson are representing Cranford. Toombs Circuit Assistant District Attorney Terry Lloyd and Senior ADA Debra Neumann are prosecuting him.
