Suspect in Skyline shooting pleads not guilty

A man charged in connection with a shooting at Skyline College in San Bruno last year pleaded not guilty in San Mateo County Superior Court Thursday.

Germaine Benjamin, 18, is charged with five felonies for the Sept. 2 shooting that left another man injured at the college campus, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Benjamin was arrested shortly after the shooting and posted bail, but was arrested in San Francisco's Bayview District on Sept. 25 for making criminal threats to a security guard, prosecutors said.

After he failed to appear in court for his preliminary hearing in October due to his San Francisco arrest, an arrest warrant was issued for him and he was taken back into custody in December, Wagstaffe said.

He posted a $50,000 bail bond again on Tuesday, however, and was released, according to Wagstaffe.

He pleaded not guilty at his superior court arraignment this morning to possession of a loaded gun on a college campus, possession of a loaded firearm in a public place, possession of a concealed firearm in public, being a gang member while committing a felony, and accessory to a gang crime.

The victim of the Skyline College shooting, Eric Brewer, was also arrested in connection with that shooting for allegedly having a gun on campus as well.

A jury trial date was set today for June 21.