Proa-Rios trial likely to last most of week

Jury selection got underway Tuesday morning in the trial of Alphonso Proa-Rios, 42, who is charged with shooting a veteran Clinton police officer three times in the arms on Dec. 7, 2017, as he was trying to serve an arrest warrant.
Proa-Rios faces charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon after conviction of two or more felonies, possession of a firearm after former conviction, and possession of a controlled dangerous substance (methamphetamine) after former conviction. Each of the charges carries a possible punishment of four years to life in prison 
The shooting occurred about 3 in the afternoon near S. Third Street and Hayes Avenue after Murley spotted the suspect walking and tried to drive up close to him. A fourth bullet went through the officer’s jacket, almost grazing his torso, and others hit the auto he was driving.
District Judge Doug Haught is presiding over the trial. He told potential jurors it would take more than one day but he couldn’t say how long. District Attorney Angela Marsee, the lead prosecutor, thought it would take three days, maybe four.
“We should be done by Friday at the latest,” she said.
Assisting her is Brian Henderson of Sayre, one of her assistant DA’s in Beckham County. The defendant is represented by Larry Monard of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System.
Special Agent Trevor Ridgeway of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is the case agent and was sitting at the prosecution’s table. He is a former Weatherford policeman.
The trial is being held in Courtroom 1, the largest of three at the Custer County Courthouse in Arapaho. It was filled as proceedings got underway with all the seats taken and potential jurors standing along the rear and one side wall.
Judge Haught began by excusing any potential jurors over 70 years old or anyone who had been on a jury in the last five years, if they didn’t want to serve on this one. One person in each of those categories asked to be excused and was.
Others who would have been excused had they been called were nursing mothers, sheriffs or sheriff’s deputies, jailers or other law enforcement personnel, members of the armed forces on active duty, and persons with felony convictions or who had served time in prison.
Among those called was the chaplain for the Great Plains Correctional Center in Hinton. Jury selection had not been completed when the jurors broke for lunch so it was not known if he would be among those selected to serve or not. That gentleman said he had served 28 years as a Methodist preacher before accepting his position with Great Plains.
Another potential juror was a fourth-grade school teacher who said she had recently served on a federal grand jury.
A male who is employed at a confinement facility was asked if there is anything about his job that would affect his ability to sentence the defendant to prison if he is found guilty. He replied that he might be “a little nervous” to do so but added, “All ours are undocumented immigrants. It’s unlikely I would see him (Proa-Rios) again.”
When Defense Attorney Monard asked if any of those in the potential pool had been charged with a crime, one female raised her hand. She said she is presently on probation and did not feel she could be fair, so she was excused. 
From all those filling the room, names of 23 were drawn to begin the selection process. As one person would be eliminated, another name would be drawn to take that individual’s seat.
Not a single one of those in the first pool of 23 was automatically eliminated because they were willing to admit they had already made up their minds about the defendant’s guilt or innocence.