Ex-gang member takes stand in alleged retaliatory stabbing case

FALLBROOK — Looking to better his life for his daughter and girlfriend, a 19-year-old man gave up the gang life only to be stabbed by one of his former homeboys, he testified June 3 in a Vista courtroom.

“I wanted to change my life,” the ex-gang member said. The teenager’s name has been withheld at the request of prosecutors to protect his identity.

After quitting the gang, the victim said he was jumped by the 19-year-old defendant, Skyylr Hamilton, and two other gang members in front of his residence near Aviation Road in Fallbrook. Several weeks later on July 4, 2009, Hamilton and the victim fought again, but that time the victim got the better of Hamilton.

Then, on Sept. 28, 2009, as the ex-gang member walked home, he testified he encountered Hamilton and another gang member, prompting their third and final round of fights. As the former Fallbrook High students squared up, Hamilton pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim twice in the stomach rupturing his intestine, the teenager testified.

“I saw all my stuff coming out of my stomach,” the victim said.

Hamilton is charged with attempted murder with a weapon and gang allegations attached to the charge as well as several assault and weapons charges relating to the stabbing. He faces up to 24 years in prison if convicted.

The trial is expected to run two weeks.