LAKEPORT — Jury selection continued for the third day Wednesday in the trial of two men accused of killing a toddler in Clearlake late last spring.
Paul W. Braden, 21, and Orlando J. Lopez, 24, have pleaded not guilty to 15 felonies, including murder and five counts of attempted murder, and have denied dozens of special allegations.
Authorities allege the two men shot into a crowd of people gathered at a home on June 18, killing Skyler Rapp, 4, and injuring five others.
Braden and Lopez are standing trial in the same courtroom but have different lawyers and will have separate juries.
One pool of potential jurors arrived at the Lake County Courthouse Wednesday morning to possibly sit on Braden”s jury. A second group of county residents came in the afternoon for consideration for Lopez”s jury.
The prospective jurors spent their time either filling out questionnaires or asking to be excused from service because the estimated three-month trial would cause them a hardship.
No more new pools are scheduled to come in, according to Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson. Approximately 600 people appeared at the courthouse for jury service during the past three trial days, he said.
The process of picking jurors is set to begin Feb. 8 and could take two to three weeks, Anderson said.
Each defendant”s jury will consist of 12 jurors and eight alternates, he added.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
