Jury selection began on Monday, Sept. 22, for the Desmonte Leonard murder trial in Opelika.
Leonard is charged with the killing of DeMario Pitts and former Auburn football players Ladarious Phillips and Ed Christian on June 9, 2012 at University Heights, now known as Tiger Lodge.
Judge Jacob A. Walker oversaw the Lee County courtroom as 102 potential jurors answered questions from District Attorney Robert Treese and defense attorney Susan James.
Walker began by instructing the potential jurors to declare if they or their family members worked or had retired from Auburn University.
About a quarter of the potential jurors raised their hand.
The potential jurors were asked to give reasons why they thought they should be excused.
"I got two reasons, I believe in God and I can't judge nobody," said one potential juror. "[The other reason] I got no ride."
Ten potential jurors were excused from duty.
Questions asked by Walker, Treese and James to screen potential jurors revealed certain trends among those selected for jury duty.
Of the 92 potential jurors left remaining after the lunch recess, 20 said they had not heard anything about the case.
Walker mentioned the trial could take two to three weeks, and 30 potential jurors said serving the length of the trial would cause hardship.
Leonard allegedly used a semi-automatic pistol against the victims.
Forty-two potential jurors said they own a semi-automatic pistol.
If Leonard is found guilty of capital murder, he may face the death penalty.
Fifteen potential jurors expressed they have views against the death penalty.
These and many other questions will be used to lessen the number of potential jurors over the next two days to create an unbiased 12 person jury.
James said she was waiting to hear more from potential jurors before deciding on whether to ask for a change of venue.
"It's really too early to tell," James said, "I was shocked that there were so many people that knew and I was shocked that there were a good many people that had never heard anything about it."
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