Jury for Youngstown murder trial seated
YOUNGSTOWN — By the end of the day Tuesday, a jury of 10 men, two women and two alternates was selected to serve in a murder trial involving Brian Donlow Jr., 25 and Stephon Hopkins, 23.
The two men are accused of killing Brandon Wylie, 30. Opening statements in their trial are set for 9 a.m. today.
They are charged with aggravated murder, murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted, each could get a life prison sentence.
They are accused of shooting Wylie to death in June 2018 near the playground of the Plaza View apartments on the East Side.
During the juror-selection process Tuesday, one woman told a defense attorney that being questioned about whether she could be fair in a murder case made her “nervous,” agreeing that she had never even been in a courtroom before she was called for jury duty.
The woman told Judge Anthony D’Apolito and the attorneys for the prosecution and defense she agreed with another woman who said earlier that being arrested was a strong indicator of guilt.
“I kind of agreed that if you were arrested, you had to have done something wrong,” the woman said.
At the end of questioning by the prosecution and defense, she agreed that her presumption would probably be in the “back of her mind” as she heard evidence in the case no matter how hard she tried to keep it out.
She apologized multiple times to the judge and others for holding that opinion, and she was ultimately excused from serving as a juror.
Another potential juror said she has back problems that she suspected would interfere with her service. She also was excused also but not until she was asked a number of followup questions and advised that breaks during the trial would be frequent.
Another potential juror was excused because she is a school counselor and feared she might be needed in the event that something happened at the school during the trial,which is expected to last through Friday.
erunyan@tribtoday.com