Latest news with #Banton
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Woman sentenced to 23 years for shooting friend to death at Brooklyn vigil
A woman was sentenced to 23 years-to-life in prison for the cold-blooded execution-style slaying of a longtime friend on a Brooklyn sidewalk where mourners had gathered to light candles and pay tribute to a mutual pal. Claudia Banton, 46, had attended the same funeral as victim Delia Johnson a day before the 2021 killing and had even chatted with her at the service, officials said. But when they crossed paths at the vigil the very next day, Banton singled 42-year-old Johnson out on a crowded Crown Heights sidewalk and pumped a bullet into her head, shooting her a couple more times after she fell. 'This shooting was a cold-blooded execution of a woman who was attending a ceremony to honor a late friend,' Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Monday. 'It is especially shocking that the defendant was so brazen as to carry out this murder among a crowd of mourners, causing chaos and fear as they ran from the gunfire' The caught-on-camera murder was compounded by the confusion that ensued in the moments after the attack. At least one witness told responding cops that a man had gunned the woman down. Police, armed with a description of the double-parked getaway car, even stopped Blanton mere blocks from the crime scene but let her go when she didn't match the misleading description. Only when cops got a look a couple of hours later at the video of Blanton approaching Johnson from behind along Franklin Ave. and firing the fatal shot did cops realize their big mistake. Detectives linked the license plate of the getaway car, a Mercedes-Benz, to a Claudia Williams in Georgia, one of the names and addresses Banton used. Cops tracked Banton down three months later in Jacksonville, Fla., and she was extradited to New York City. Jurors watched chilling video of the shooting and of police officers frantically trying to revive Johnson as she gasped for breath and blood poured from her head. They also saw bodycam footage of police pulling over the shooter and letting her go. The motive for the killing remains unclear. 'This is not a case where an argument escalated. This is not a case where the victim was shot by a stray bullet,' prosecutors wrote in a sentencing recommendation. 'Just the opposite, what the court saw during this trial is that this defendant took advantage of the unsuspecting people around her. Those who truly were there to mourn a friend. This defendant exploited the emotions of the night and was able to get within feet of her target, raise her gun to Delia's head and let off at least five shots.' Banton was a longtime friend of Johnson's family and Johnson's mother treated her as another daughter, the victim's family said.
New York Post
19-05-2025
- New York Post
Cold-blooded NYC killer who gunned down childhood friend in ‘evil act' learns her fate as victim's family tears into her: ‘No remorse'
A cold-blooded killer who gunned down her childhood friend on a crowded Brooklyn street has shown 'no remorse' in the years since the shocking slaying — and the motive remains a mystery even as she was sentenced on Monday. Claudia Banton, 46, deserved to rot in prison for the 'evil act,' victim Delia Johnson's grieving relatives said in Brooklyn Supreme Court before the convicted murderer was slapped with a 23-year-to-life prison sentence. 'It's an act of pure evil and what makes it even more painful is that she showed no remorse for what she did,' Johnson's brother, Mathis Lemons, 51, told Justice Margaret Martin at the hearing, urging the judge to throw the book at Banton. Advertisement 4 Claudia Banton, 46, received a 23-years-to life sentence for murdering childhood friend Delia Johnson. Gregory P. Mango 'My sister's killer should never see the world again,' Lemons said. Banton showed no emotion as Johnson's family expressed shock that the woman they once took into their home had turned out to be their kin's killer. Advertisement 'I saw you as family at one point in my life,' Johnson's daughter, Ladeya Jenkins, 21, told Banton. 'To say this hurt, I cannot even say that. That's putting it lightly.' Johnson's sister, Khadijah Berry, 31, echoed the heartrending sentiment. 'You and her were friends… but what broke my heart is knowing you did it and knowing how you did it to my sister,' she said. Advertisement 4 Delia Johnson's grief-stricken family expressed shock that the killer was a friend. Gregory P. Mango Banton was convicted last month of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for the gruesome execution-style killing, which took place outside another friend's funeral on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights on Aug. 4, 2021. Banton and Johnson were former friends, but no information about the killer's motive came out over the course of her trial. Authorities said Banton blasted the 42-year-old mom at least five times in front of shocked mourners, sending them running for cover. Advertisement 'The first shot wasn't enough for this defendant,' Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Michael Diamond told the court during the sentencing. 'She stepped over and pulled the trigger again and again as people ran for their lives.' 4 Delia Johnson's slaying was captured on surveillance footage. Chilling police bodycam video shown during the trial captured a wounded Johnson bleeding out from her eyes as she lay face-up gasping for air. Her slaying was also caught on surveillance footage. Police stopped Banton in her white Mercedes moments after the shooting, but she was let go after witnesses claimed the shooter was a man. Banton spoke to police like 'nothing happened' when she was pulled over, the prosecutor said. 4 Delia Johnson was shot multiple times by childhood pal Claudia Banton. Brigitte Stelzer Advertisement Three months later, US Marshals tracked Banton down in Jacksonville, Fla. after she changed her appearance — including by wearing a blonde wig — and deleted her social media. It remains a mystery why Banton killed her former friend, whose family let her live with them multiple times. 'The first time I saw you with chains on, it broke me,' Johnson's mom, Delia Berry, recalled inside the courtroom as she shook with emotion and held photos of her beaming daughter. Advertisement 'It broke my heart,' she said. 'I took care of you.'
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘Something clicked' – Somerset's Tom Banton on the secret behind his record 371
Not content with plundering a club-record 371 for Somerset to start the season, Tom Banton followed it up a couple of days later by nailing his first albatross on the golf course. Given the way England operate these days, taming the seventh hole at Minehead may have impressed Brendon McCullum more. It is Masters week, after all. Either way, Banton is on the rise, his cross-format form glowing and culminating in that epic at home to Worcestershire. Having never before faced 200 balls in a first-class match, the 26-year-old stitched together 403 at the crease, slotting 56 fours, two sixes, and marching past Graeme Smith (311), Jimmy Cook (313no), Viv Richards (322) and Justin Langer (315 and 342) to sit top of leaderboard at Taunton. 'I'm not sure I will ever have a week like it,' says Banton, on the team bus en route to Hove for round two against Sussex on Friday. 'I joked with our captain, Lewis Gregory, the day before saying: 'I don't understand how people can bat for so long'. But something kind of clicked and I just kept reminding myself to keep going, to not throw it away. 'When I was on 329, Alfie Ogborne ran out and told me about [Langer's] record. There were three overs to go in the day. I thought: 'Right, I'm going for it'. To hear the crowd cheer was just a 'wow' moment and I was pretty emotional in the dressing room afterwards. There were a few tears and the boys were absolutely buzzing.' The albatross probably comes second, hearing this, but even that shot – reward for risk and aggression that had him haring around the links like a maniac – underlines the sweet spot Banton finds himself in. Over the past 12 months, he has made five centuries in all formats, averaging 50 at a strike rate of 98. The catalyst – ditching the side-arm ball-thrower that has become so ubiquitous in modern coaching – is fascinating. 'I picked it up from watching Harry Brook,' he says. 'I saw him just having standard throwdowns out of the hand a while back and I decided to go with that. I now do small drills that get me into a good headspace and I have stuck with it. The sidearm, for me, just feels too different to a bowler, the point of release and the angle. I would walk out of nets in a worse place than I went in. Bad habits were creeping in. 'I also used to get so worried about getting out in red-ball cricket, how it looked, but now I'm trying to emulate how I feel in T20; to make the formats as close as possible when I am out there. You're probably going to get out whatever happens so for me it's trying to put pressure back on the ball and scoring as quickly as possible.' Talk of Brook, England's new white-ball captain, and the desire to put pressure back on bowlers brings us inevitably on to international cricket. Banton ended the winter in the setup – an unused reserve during the Champions Trophy after one outing in India – and on current form looks a good bet to break back into the white-ball XIs at least. Given McCullum's general approach, a first Test cap could very much be in the offing. The question that follows is where? England's established Test middle order of Joe Root, Brook and Ben Stokes means any possible vacancies are likely to appear higher up. Banton says he would naturally take any opportunity but is enjoying life at No 5. 'I have tried opening for Somerset,' he says. 'It did not go well.' Thoughts of Dan Lawrence's tortured stab at opening last summer spring to mind here. But then, by his own admission, Banton is a different beast to his younger self. Having drawn early comparisons with Kevin Pietersen due to their height and dominance down the ground, and won the first of 21 white-ball caps in late 2019, he did not quite put up the numbers and has since admitted to briefly falling out of love with the sport. It all came a bit too quickly, with Banton beamed up to franchise cricket, in parallel with England, before he truly knew his own game. As well as that notable tweak in training, his revival this past year has been down to re-embracing the County Championship and a club that has spent 134 years trying to win its first title. 'I would love to play Test cricket but there are a lot of great players pushing their case,' he says. 'I do not want to get ahead of myself, I just want to keep doing well for Somerset. Winning our first County Championship, that is the main goal for me. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion 'Sometimes people take [county cricket] for granted. On day one last week, I think we walked out to 3,000 people in the stands and it was such a buzz. It is such a well-supported and special club and I think there are special things happening here.' Next up is Sussex, and while Ollie Robinson misses out with a foot injury, there is still a Test-quality new-ball bowler in West Indies' Jayden Seales to negotiate. Coming after such a huge score in the opening round – but also what was an agonising draw with Worcestershire nine down – the question is asked whether Banton would have swapped that triple century for a win. 'I want to win,' Banton says, without a pause. 'Coming back into the changing room after, having not won, everyone was pretty broken to be honest. It was a tough one to take but we have to forget about it and focus on what is ahead. 'The triple century was amazing. I don't think it will probably ever sink in or feel real, to be honest. I never believed it would be possible. It is crazy what you can do if you put your mind to something and it's quite weird when it actually happens.' Having learned a few things about himself this past week – and got the albatross off his back on the links at Minehead – a season of possibilities has opened up for Banton.
The Guardian
07-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
County cricket day four: Essex v Surrey, Middlesex v Lancashire
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature In the end, Brian Charles Lara could rest easy, his record first-class score of 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994 was not surpassed by Somerset's Tom Banton. Resuming on 344 and with his county's highest score freshly minted in his back pocket, Banton threw the blade at everything Worcestershire sent down on the third morning, a nick behind off the left-arm wrist‑spinner Tom Hinley the final act of an innings of 371. Not bad for a player who admitted to 'hating' cricket during times of paucity in recent years. Banton will now be on England's radar in both red and white ball formats. Fifties from Adam Hose and Brett D'Oliveira delayed a three-day defeat for the Pears but they seem sure to go mouldy on day four, trailing by 236 runs with half their second innings wickets lost. Ben Foakes was left stranded on 92 not out after scrapping for Surrey against Essex's well-rounded bowling attack at Chelmsford. The champions had the ignominy of following on in the first round of their title defence but Foakes's rearguard has given them a chance of escaping back to south London with a draw, providing they can last out the day tomorrow. Yorkshire's Adam Lyth gave Hampshire a scare with a second‑innings century that didn't contain a boundary in its first 123 deliveries, but a target of 148 runs wasn't enough – Ben Brown's side prospering over Jonny Bairstow's by five wickets in Southampton. Sussex's Ollie Robinson looked to be getting back to his miserly best with the ball against Warwickshire but it was the 24-year-old off‑spinner Jack Carson who did the most damage at Edgbaston, picking up four wickets as the south coast side set up a lead of 200 runs and counting heading into the final day. Durham and Nottinghamshire are still duking it out at Trent Bridge, the home side with an 87‑run lead and seven second‑innings wickets to winkle. In Division Two, Northamptonshire went down with a whimper at Wantage Road, dismissed for 114 in their second innings as Kent beat them by 145 runs. Leicestershire did the same to Glamorgan by dint of 10 wickets while Lancashire and Middlesex are locked in battle at Lord's. Derbyshire got their season off to a winning start with a nine-wicket victory against Gloucestershire. Coach Mickey Arthur paid tribute to the work his players have done 'in those cold dark days in the middle of January' adding that his team have 'worked unbelievably hard and cricket looks after people who work hard.' In Taunton, 177 miles away, a spent and sated Banton would likely agree. Share DIVISION ONE Chelmsford: Essex 582-6 dec v Surrey 365 & 9-0 – Surrey trail by 208 runs Southampton: RESULT: Hampshire 249 & 148-5- BEAT Yorkshire 121 and 275 Hampshire win by 5 wickets Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 579-9 v Durham 378 & 114-3 - Durham trail by 87 runs Taunton: Somerset 670-7 dec v Worcestershire 154 & 280-5 Worcs trail by 236 runs Edgbaston: Warwickshire 454 v Sussex 528 & 126-3 – Sussex lead by 200 runs DIVISION TWO The County Ground: RESULT Derbyshire 391 & 93-1 BEAT Gloucestershire 222 and 259 – Derbyshire win by nine wickets Sophia Gardens: RESULT Glamorgan 229 & 248 LOST to Leicestershire 427 & 53-0 Leicestershire win by 10 wickets Lord's: Middlesex 260 & 286-6 v Lancashire 359 – Middlesex lead by 189 runs Wantage Road: RESULT: Northamptonshire 143 114 v LOST to Kent 231 and 171 – Kent win by 145 runs Share Good morning from a sunkissed Lord's where we're in for what the BBC's Scott Read has described as a 'knicker gripper.' Huge thanks to Jim for CCliving yesterday so excellently, even if he couldn't guide Tom Banton through to a quadruple ton. I'm going to find some coffee, so plump up the cushions and settle down for a final day's yarn. Share
Int'l Cricket Council
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Int'l Cricket Council
Aussie batter sends WTC Final reminder with dream Lord's century
Australian left-hander Marcus Harris has given selectors something to think about ahead of the World Test Championship final, compiling a century in the UK's County Championship. Harris made 138 for Lancashire against Middlesex at Lord's, fittingly the venue for the Final beginning on June 11. Whilst known for his work at the top of the order, Harris came in at No.4, hitting 21 boundaries before the visitors were bowled out for 359, in reply to Middlesex's 260. The century was Harris' 30th in First Class cricket. The 32-year-old gave a chance on 11, though Middlesex wicket-keeper Jack Davies failed to complete a stumping chance off the bowling of Zafar Gohar. Gohar would go on to dismiss Harris to end Lancashire's innings. Harris was pleased to make an early contribution for his new county. 'To get a hundred in your first game for a new county's always good,' Harris said at stumps on day two. 'But then to do it at Lord's, it's probably the best ground in the world, so that's definitely a bucket list thing.' Harris fell off Australia's central contract list in 2024, with Usman Khawaja and Sam Konstas the only red-ball openers on the list for 2025/2026. Read on: Trio rewarded as Australia announce new names in national contract list Konstas is tipped to earn the opening spot back for the Final, in spite of missing out on a spot in Australia's squad for their successful tour of Sri Lanka. Selectors opted for Travis Head at the top of the order in slower Sri Lankan conditions, though the nature of the Lord's surface all but guarantees Head's move back down the order, opening up a spot alongside Khawaja at the top. Australia win first World Test Championship mace - Full Match Highlights | WTC23 Final Full Match Highlights: The key moments from all five days of the ICC World Test Championship Final 2023 as Australia beat India by 209 runs to secure their first WTC mace Tom Banton meanwhile gave his chances of an England recall for the new World Test Championship cycle a boost, posting the fifth-highest score in the County Championship's 135-year history, a knock of 371 against Worcestershire in Taunton. The 26-year-old batted for nearly nine hours and faced 403 deliveries, hitting 56 fours and two sixes to break Somerset's record for highest individual score, previously held by former Australian international and coach Justin Langer, who scored 342 against Surrey in 2006. Coming out with his side in a hole at 39/3, Banton combined with Somerset wicketkeeper James Rew for a 371-run partnership for the fifth wicket, before finishing unbeaten on 344* at the end of day two. Banton was dismissed by Tom Hinley early on day three, with Somerset subsequently declaring their innings at 670/7. 'I won't lie, I was pretty tired out there and I kept saying to myself 'just keep batting, keep going'," Banton said. "There were a few moments when I felt I wanted to be back in the dressing room, but I thought this wasn't going to happen again, and I wanted to go for the record tonight, so I tried to play my shots when possible." The knock is befitting of England's Bazball approach under coach Brendon McCullum, with teammate and England international Jack Leach believing his efforts could prove valuable for the Test team moving forward. 'His talent has never been questioned and is such that he could play for England in all formats,' Leach said of Banton. 'Sometimes it takes some low moments to help a player reach the next level with his game and he has been through those. 'The journey 'Bants' has been on with his cricket has included a couple of difficult years and I love the fact that he has been able to come back and work his game out." Tom Banton batting highlights against Australia at U19CWC News Australia Marcus Harris 07/21/1992 ICC World Test Championship Final, 2025 ICC World Test Championship
