San Diego

Opening arguments are scheduled to begin today in the trial of Sagon Penn, who is accused of killing one police officer and seriously injuring another.

The jury was selected after 140 prospective jurors were questioned over two weeks by Superior Court Judge Ben Hamrick, prosecutor Michael Carpenter and defense attorney Milton Silverman.

Carpenter and Silverman exercised surprisingly few legal challenges to remove candidates during the jury selection process, using only a dozen of the 52 challenges available to them.

“I think we’ve got a fair and impartial jury,” Carpenter said. “I think that the small number of challenges used are indicative of the fact that people knew what we were looking for and made a commitment to be that kind of person.”

Before the trial, both attorneys had expressed serious concerns that it would be difficult for them to select an impartial jury because of extensive pre-trial publicity regarding allegations of racially motivated abuse by San Diego police.

Penn, 24, who is black, is charged with murder in the March 31 shooting death of Agent Thomas Riggs, and attempted murder in the shootings of Agent Donovan Jacobs and civilian Sara Pina-Ruiz. Penn contends that he defended himself after he was beaten by the officers and Jacobs used racial slurs.