Jury Selection

Jury selection got under way Tuesday in Boyle Circuit Court for next month's scheduled murder trial of Jack Caldwell Sr. More than 220 potential jurors have been lined up and could be called for questioning before the selection process is completed on Thursday. Extra jurors and time have been allotted due to publicity surrounding the three-year-old case and the notoriety of Caldwell and victim Jim Trachsel, a former principal for Danville schools. Judge Darren Peckler hopes to qualify 34 potential jurors by Thursday, to make sure an unbiased jury is available in advance of the trial, which is scheduled to start Nov. 19 and last as many as eight days.

By Michael Broihier With less than two weeks before his jury trial begins, Jamarkos Campbell, a suspect in the Upton/Shangraw murders, was in court Friday as Judge Jeffrey Burdette decided on some motions and made some preliminary instructions on filling the jury, the presentation of evidence and media in the court. Assistant Commonwealth Attorney David Dalton said that this kind of detail work is typical of high stakes trials. Campbell will be standing trial alone, with jury selection beginning on April 6. Deonte Simmons, Charles Smith and Neccolus Mundy will be tried together in mid-July.

With the murder trial of Patrick and Joy Watkins expected to take at least two weeks, starting jury selection a day earlier seemed like a good idea. So in a status hearing Friday afternoon, Senior Judge Gary Payne decided to start the jury selection process Sept. 2, a day earlier than the case was scheduled to begin. Payne, who recently assumed the case after Circuit Judge William Jennings retired, said he would do the bulk of juror questioning as a group, allowing prosecutors and defense attorneys to ask questions to follow up. The jury selection process may raise other concerns about whether an impartial jury can be seated in Clark County.

Advocate staff writer Todd Kleffman will report from the Lincoln County murder trial of Jamarkos Campbell. His work will appear at amnews.com as news breaks. Look for a full account of the proceedings in Thursday's paper. Jury selection started Tuesday.

VERSAILLES ? Jury selection began anew Monday morning, as attorneys searched for an impartial jury in Woodford County to try murder suspect Lewis "Buck" Ballard. Jury selection in Bourbon County, where 6-year-old Wesley Mullins was killed in August 2007, stalled Thursday afternoon after two days of individual questioning by attorneys and the judge. Circuit Judge Rob Johnson decided Thursday to move the case to Versailles, which is in the same judicial circuit. Commonwealth's Attorney Gordie Shaw said none of the potential jurors from Bourbon County would carry over, and the process started at the beginning Monday.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Jury selection wrapped up Monday for the murder trial of a former Columbia police officer accused of killing a gay University of Missouri student with whom he had an affair. Steven Rios faces a life sentence if convicted of first degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Jesse Valencia, formerly of Perryville. When leaving court today, Rios blew his wife, Libby, a kiss. Valencia's body was found in a neighbor's yard near campus on June 5 of last year.

Jury selection in the murder trial of Patrick and Joy Watkins began this morning, seeking at least a dozen who will decide whether or not the couple killed their 10-year-old daughter a year ago. A new pool of potential jurors filed into Clark Circuit Court today as the process began. Clark Circuit Clerk David Hunt requested approximately 220 names of potential jurors from the state for this term, 10 percent more than he normally requests for a month's circuit court service.

It will be about a week before a judge decides whether or not to move the trial of murder suspect Patrick Watkins to another county. Watkins, 35, is charged with murder for the 2007 death of his 10-year-old daughter Michaela. Both Watkins and his wife Joy Watkins were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison following a 2008 trial in Clark County. A year ago, the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned Patrick Watkins' conviction and sentence after finding he was not allowed to respond to numerous statements from Joy Watkins that were entered as evidence in the trial.

HARRODSBURG - With a jury panel already in place, opening arguments are scheduled to begin Monday in Mercer Circuit Court in the murder trial of Lee Anderson. Anderson, now 19, is accused of stabbing retired elementary teacher Louise Pulliam multiple times during a robbery at her Bob O Link Drive home in January 2006. Lexington attorney Mike Moloney will represent Anderson. Commonwealth's Attorney Richie Bottoms will prosecute the case before Judge Darren Peckler. If convicted, Anderson faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

It will be about a week before a judge decides whether or not to move the trial of murder suspect Patrick Watkins to another county. Watkins, 35, is charged with murder for the 2007 death of his 10-year-old daughter Michaela. Both Watkins and his wife Joy Watkins were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison following a 2008 trial in Clark County. A year ago, the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned Patrick Watkins' conviction and sentence after finding he was not allowed to respond to numerous statements from Joy Watkins that were entered as evidence in the trial.

VERSAILLES ? After a week of work in two counties, a jury was finally impaneled to decide whether Lewis "Buck" Ballard is guilty of killing a Winchester boy. The jury is scheduled to hear testimony from the first witnesses today in Versailles after the case started late Thursday afternoon with opening statements from the attorneys. Ballard could be facing the death penalty, if he is convicted of killing and sodomizing 6-year-old Wesley Mullins in August 2007. Mullins died days before he was to begin first grade at Strode Station Elementary in Winchester.

VERSAILLES ? Jury selection began anew Monday morning, as attorneys searched for an impartial jury in Woodford County to try murder suspect Lewis "Buck" Ballard. Jury selection in Bourbon County, where 6-year-old Wesley Mullins was killed in August 2007, stalled Thursday afternoon after two days of individual questioning by attorneys and the judge. Circuit Judge Rob Johnson decided Thursday to move the case to Versailles, which is in the same judicial circuit. Commonwealth's Attorney Gordie Shaw said none of the potential jurors from Bourbon County would carry over, and the process started at the beginning Monday.

By Michael Broihier After only two hours of deliberation, a Lincoln Circuit Court jury returned guilty verdicts Monday afternoon in the Jamarkos Campbell trial. Campbell was found guilty of the intentional murder of Ryan Shangraw and the wanton murder of Harold "Bo" Upton III in 2002. The jury also returned guilty verdicts for charges of the first degree wanton endangerment of Tabitha Wilder and Tara Strunk, first degree robbery and first degree burglary. After receiving sentencing guidance, the jury retired.

By Michael Broihier Jury selection concluded around 6 p.m Tuesday and the 12-jurors and two alternates were seated at 9 a.m. Wednesday for the first day of the trial of Jamarkos Campbell for the 2002 Upton/Shangraw murder case. One of the five men accused, Matthew Tolson, was not tried because he cut a deal with the prosecution to cooperate in their prosecution of the others in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence. Before the doors opened, Sherry Moore, Bo Upton's mother, said, "I've prayed and prayed and prayed for this day to come, and now I'm praying and praying to the Lord for it to be over.

Advocate staff writer Todd Kleffman will report from the Lincoln County murder trial of Jamarkos Campbell. His work will appear at amnews.com as news breaks. Look for a full account of the proceedings in Thursday's paper. Jury selection started Tuesday.

STANFORD - The tiny trailer in the tiny, out-of-the-way community of Hubble sits empty now, looking for all the world like nothing ever happened there. But more than seven years ago - Feb. 1, 2002, to be precise - something horrific did happen there that left Hubble unsettled to this day: Four males wearing blue bandannas burst into that trailer and opened fire, killing two Lincoln County residents and wounding two others. The woman who lives next door to the trailer lived there on that night.

By Michael Broihier With less than two weeks before his jury trial begins, Jamarkos Campbell, a suspect in the Upton/Shangraw murders, was in court Friday as Judge Jeffrey Burdette decided on some motions and made some preliminary instructions on filling the jury, the presentation of evidence and media in the courtroom. Assistant Com-monwealth's Attorney David Dalton said that this kind of detail work is typical of high stakes trials. Campbell will be standing trial alone, with jury selection beginning on April 6. Deonte Simmons, Charles Smith and Neccolus Mundy will be tried together in mid-July.

By Michael Broihier With less than two weeks before his jury trial begins, Jamarkos Campbell, a suspect in the Upton/Shangraw murders, was in court Friday as Judge Jeffrey Burdette decided on some motions and made some preliminary instructions on filling the jury, the presentation of evidence and media in the court. Assistant Commonwealth Attorney David Dalton said that this kind of detail work is typical of high stakes trials. Campbell will be standing trial alone, with jury selection beginning on April 6. Deonte Simmons, Charles Smith and Neccolus Mundy will be tried together in mid-July.