5 Jurors Dismissed In KFC Jury Selection
(Staff Photo By Tom Turner)
DAY IN COURT: The trial of Romeo Pinkerton begins on Monday a the Bowie County Courthouse. Pinkerton (seated second from right) is on trial for the 1983 abduction and execution-style killings of five Kilgore residents.
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
NEW BOSTON - Several people state prosecutors plan to call as witnesses in the capital murder trial detailing the 1983 Kentucky Fried Chicken murders were once suspects themselves.
Romeo Pinkerton, 49, is accused of taking part in killing five people abducted from what was then a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore. The victims, including two mothers and three Kilgore College fraternity brothers, were found shot to death miles away on a secluded oil lease.
The list of potential witnesses, which was released Monday, includes Darnell Hartsfield, a co-defendant in the case, and Jimmy Earl Mankins Jr., who was once indicted for the murders but cleared through DNA.
During the first day of jury selection, State District Judge Clay Gossett of Rusk County did not allow a continuance in the case and told both prosecution and the defense he plans to pick a jury with voir dire beginning next week. After the jury is selected, Gossett said there will be at least one week before any testimony is heard to give both sides adequate time for last minute DNA testing.
Staff Writer
NEW BOSTON - Several people state prosecutors plan to call as witnesses in the capital murder trial detailing the 1983 Kentucky Fried Chicken murders were once suspects themselves.
Romeo Pinkerton, 49, is accused of taking part in killing five people abducted from what was then a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore. The victims, including two mothers and three Kilgore College fraternity brothers, were found shot to death miles away on a secluded oil lease.
The list of potential witnesses, which was released Monday, includes Darnell Hartsfield, a co-defendant in the case, and Jimmy Earl Mankins Jr., who was once indicted for the murders but cleared through DNA.
During the first day of jury selection, State District Judge Clay Gossett of Rusk County did not allow a continuance in the case and told both prosecution and the defense he plans to pick a jury with voir dire beginning next week. After the jury is selected, Gossett said there will be at least one week before any testimony is heard to give both sides adequate time for last minute DNA testing.
Gossett moved the trial to New Boston on a change of venue because of lengthy coverage of the case in the media.
Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Ann Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monte Landers, 19, were abducted Sept. 23, 1983, from the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore. Their bodies were found the next day on a rural Rusk County oil lease. Authorities said the victims had been shot to death.
The judge excused five potential jurors who were qualified to be excused under state provisions and expects 345 more potential jurors will report to the courthouse as jury selection continues Wednesday.
A questionnaire released Monday shows potential jurors will be quizzed on their knowledge of the case - one of the most notorious unsolved mass murders in Texas - as well as the victims and the suspect. Potential jurors will have to answer questions that will also reveal their thoughts on using the death penalty, the questionnaire shows.
Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Ann Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monte Landers, 19, were abducted Sept. 23, 1983, from the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore. Their bodies were found the next day on a rural Rusk County oil lease. Authorities said the victims had been shot to death.
The judge excused five potential jurors who were qualified to be excused under state provisions and expects 345 more potential jurors will report to the courthouse as jury selection continues Wednesday.
A questionnaire released Monday shows potential jurors will be quizzed on their knowledge of the case - one of the most notorious unsolved mass murders in Texas - as well as the victims and the suspect. Potential jurors will have to answer questions that will also reveal their thoughts on using the death penalty, the questionnaire shows.
PINKERTON
The Texas attorney general's office, which took over the investigation and is now prosecuting the decades-old crime, filed papers indicating it could call as many as 120 people to the stand as part of the case against Pinkerton.
Hartsfield was convicted of aggravated perjury in 2005 for his involvement in the case. He told a grand jury he had not been at the crime scene. Prosecutors, however, said DNA taken from blood at the restaurant matched that of Hartsfield and also placed Pinkerton at the scene.
The defense team, including Jeff Haas and David Griffith, asked the state if a tape was available and had been enhanced. The state said the enhancement had been complete and would be given to the defense quickly.
Haas also voiced concerns over new witnesses who may be called by the state.
"Here we are week before the commencement of this case and here we are given notice to 60-70 new potential witnesses for the state," he said.
Gossett did not toss Haas' motion or approve it, but said the court would carry it for the time being.
Outside the courthouse, Lisa Tanner, the lead prosecutor, said the state is ready for the trial, but had no way of knowing how long it would last.
Griffith, standing in front of the statue of Jim Bowie, who the county was named after, said he believes the actual trial could take months and that thousands of pages of documents would be introduced as evidence.
"Yes this is a big case, but it's like every other case in that you have to work the case through the evidence and that's what we intend to do," he said. "I expect it to take months."
Hartsfield was convicted of aggravated perjury in 2005 for his involvement in the case. He told a grand jury he had not been at the crime scene. Prosecutors, however, said DNA taken from blood at the restaurant matched that of Hartsfield and also placed Pinkerton at the scene.
The defense team, including Jeff Haas and David Griffith, asked the state if a tape was available and had been enhanced. The state said the enhancement had been complete and would be given to the defense quickly.
Haas also voiced concerns over new witnesses who may be called by the state.
"Here we are week before the commencement of this case and here we are given notice to 60-70 new potential witnesses for the state," he said.
Gossett did not toss Haas' motion or approve it, but said the court would carry it for the time being.
Outside the courthouse, Lisa Tanner, the lead prosecutor, said the state is ready for the trial, but had no way of knowing how long it would last.
Griffith, standing in front of the statue of Jim Bowie, who the county was named after, said he believes the actual trial could take months and that thousands of pages of documents would be introduced as evidence.
"Yes this is a big case, but it's like every other case in that you have to work the case through the evidence and that's what we intend to do," he said. "I expect it to take months."
Kenneth Dean covers police, fire, public safety organizations. He can be reached at 903.596.6353. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com
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