Jurors Selected for Sniper Trial

A jury of 12 people was seated Friday for the murder trial of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad. Opening statements in the trial of the 42-year-old Army veteran are expected to begin Monday.

The jury, with three alternates, includes some members with ties to the military -- an expected mix in a community with large Navy installations. The 10 women and five men, 13 whites and two blacks were culled from a pool of 123.

Over four days of questioning, prospective jurors were grilled individually about their views on the death penalty, their exposure to pretrial publicity and whether they felt terrorized by last year’s sniper spree that left 10 people dead in the Washington, D.C., area.

The panelists include a retired Navy pilot, the spouse of a retired Navy mechanic, an Air Force retiree whose husband also was in the Air Force, and a former Navy officer whose husband retired from the Navy.

Paul Lisnek, a Chicago-based jury consultant, said military jurors tend to be favorable to the prosecution.

“They apply the rules,” he said. “They apply the penalty when you break the rules. That’s what they’re trained to do. If I’m the defense, I’m nervous about the military jurors.”

Muhammad is charged in the October 2002 death of Dean Harold Meyers, who was killed by a single bullet to the head as he filled his tank at a Manassas gas station. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Prosecutors have said the attacks were part of a plot to extort $10 million from the government.

The second sniper suspect, Lee Boyd Malvo, could also appear at the trial’s beginning Monday.

Sheriff Paul Lanteigne said Malvo will be transferred to Virginia Beach.

Larry Meyers, Dean’s older brother, said he expects to testify as a character witness.

“We believe the wheels of justice will come up with an appropriate verdict,” he said.

The trial was moved about 200 miles from the Washington area to this southeastern Virginia city after defense lawyers argued every northern Virginia resident could be considered a victim because the shootings caused widespread fear.

As jury selection proceeded in Virginia, in Montgomery, Ala., a judge awarded $50 million to the estate of a woman killed outside a liquor store -- a shooting authorities have attributed to Muhammad and Malvo.

Circuit Judge William A. Shashy said the judgment seeks to preclude the pair “from economically profiting from their own evil acts,” such as from the sale of movie or book rights.