Home invader gets life

BONNER No matter the language, the terror in a woman’s voice came through quite clearly.

Speaking through an interpreter, a local woman described for a jury in Cherokee County Court on Wednesday how four masked men came busting into her bedroom in the early morning hours of April 2, 2008, how a gun was held to her head, how she was beaten and how some of her clothing was ripped off.

The tears in her eyes needed no translation, especially when prosecutors asked her to identify photographs of her injuries.

An 18-year-old Gaffney man accused of being the ringleader behind the brutal home invasion later claimed from the same witness stand that he had nothing to do with the crime — that he, himself, was asleep and in bed at the time.

A jury of nine men and three women, however, didn’t buy that claim.

John Bendarian Bonner was convicted of all charges levied against him, including firstdegree burglary, kidnapping, armed robbery, second degree burglary, grand larceny and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

John Bonner, 18, is led out of the courtroom in the Cherokee County Courthouse on Monday after he was sentenced to life in prison. A jury convicted him on all charges for his role in a brutal home invasion. Bonner had nothing to say on his own behalf before Circuit Court Judge Derham Cole imposed sentencing. Judge Cole ruled that Bonner will have to serve the rest of his natural life in prison.

Seven other men were accused of the same crimes and all pleaded guilty. Two currently are serving lengthy prison sentences while five are awaiting sentencing.

Four of the seven co-defendants ended up testifying against Bonner, though a fifth co-defendant was on the witness list.

Principal Deputy Solicitor Barry Barnette, who is prosecuting all eight cases, lauded the crime victim for her courage.

“For her to come in and do as well as she did is incredible,” Barnette said. “We could use people like her all the time to stand up to people like (Bonner).”

According to trial testimony, the eight defendants met at Bonner’s home on April 1, 2008, and a plan was hatched to grab a money bag from a worker at the Corner Stop No. 2 convenience store on Providence Road.

Co-defendants in the case said Bonner was the one who had noticed the woman carrying the bag at the close of business each night.

When they got to the scene, however, codefendants said that it was learned the woman didn’t have the bag with her. A second plan was then hatched to go inside the woman’s home, which was adjacent to the convenience store, and take the convenience store key.

Four of the men, including Bonner, broke into the woman’s home while two stayed outside as lookouts and two stayed in their cars, which were parked about a block away, according to trial testimony.

When they stormed the woman’s bedroom, prosecutors contended that Bonner fired a shot from a handgun and then pointed it at the woman’s head.

The woman was then beaten and some of her night clothes were ripped from her as her attackers demanded money.

“Can you imagine what that was like for a woman to go through that?,” Barnette asked the jury.

During the trial the jury saw photographs of the woman’s injuries, which included bruises practically from head to toe. The woman spent two days in the hospital.

After getting the woman’s keys, Bonner and one of the other codefendants then entered the convenience store and stole cash, codefendants said.

Altogether, an estimated $25,000 in cash and jewelry were stolen from the convenience store and the woman’s home.

All of the co-defendants fled the scene when an alarm system inside the convenience store activated.

Bonner, who testified in his own defense, claimed he was at home during the incident and couldn’t explain why someone would point the finger at him. He claimed one of the codefendants called him on his cell phone at about 3 a.m. April 2, 2008, but that he had nothing to do with the incident.

A family member of Bonner, called as an alibi witness, claimed Bonner was at home in bed when the home invasion occurred. The same alibi witness, however, also said Bonner had no cell phone.

Bonner’s defense lawyer, Joshua Schultz, claimed the co-defendants who testified against Bonner were all motivated to lie because of their desires for reduced prison sentences.

“Send a message to all these people that cut deals,” Schultz challenged the jury while asking them to acquit Bonner.

There was no immediate word on when the five co-defendants who have pleaded guilty, but not yet been sentenced, will appear in court.

Joshua Manning, 23, is serving a 60-year prison sentence for his involvement while Labrontae Agnew, 19, is serving a 30-year sentence.

Manning and Agnew were both brought from Department of Corrections prison facilities to the Cherokee County Courthouse on Wednesday for possible use as defense witnesses, but both men were immediately sent back to prison without testifying and Schultz informed the court they were not being called as witnesses.

Kim Keller, a co-worker of the victim in the case, expressed her gratitude on behalf of the victim and her family after the trial.

“I don’t know if words can express it,” she said. “I’m more happy for her than anything.”

Keller said the past year and a half have been a nightmare for the victim. Still, she said, “She’s an extremely strong woman. Even what they’ve done to her, they’ve still not broken her spirit.”

Keller added: “I admire her strength. I admire her courage.”

Immediately after the April 2, 2008, incident, Bonner allegedly fled to North Carolina and was subsequently arrested on a cocaine trafficking charge.

Barnette said it appeared from court records that Bonner pleaded guilty to an attempted trafficking charge and was sentenced to time-served in North Carolina.

The case was investigated by the Gaffney Police Department, including Capt. Mike Segina, Capt. Chris Skinner and Det. Lt. Ron Ramsey