The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Jury selection begins in Lorain murder case
Jury selection may take up to a week in the case of a Lorain man accused of killing Jimmie Holland Jr.
Elliott L. Kirkland, 29, is the final defendant in the Aug. 29, 2016, death of Holland, 38, at his Lexington Avenue apartment in Lorain.
Kirkland is facing charges of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary, two counts of felonious assault and single counts of burglary, obstructing justice and weapons under disability.
Jury selection began Jan. 7, but Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James L. Miraldi said the process could take all week with the first round of testimony coming Jan. 14.
Miraldi attributed the longer than usual selection process, which normally takes about half a day, to the fact Kirkland could face the death penalty if convicted.
Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will said it’s not unusual for the selection process to take this long in capital murder cases.
There’s a two-step process the parties must undertake in seating a death penalty case jury, Will said.
“(In) the first part, the court oversees questioning of different jurors to see if they can serve on a death penalty case,” he said.
Prospective jurors are required by law in such cases to answer specific questions about their beliefs on the death penalty, Will said.
Anyone morally opposed or anyone over-eager to hand down such a judgment would be eliminated from consideration, he said.
“It qualifies the people who will then go into the selection pool and then they will do a regular (jury selection) on them,” Will said.
Mark Sanchez, 26, and Latrice Thomas, 38, both of Lorain, pleaded guilty Sept. 28, 2018, to charges before Miraldi.
Sanchez pleaded to aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary, two counts of felonious assault and single counts of burglary and obstructing justice.
Thomas admitted to obstructing justice.
On Oct. 12, 2018, a third defendant, Jasmine A. Schafer, 29, of Lorain, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary and a single count of burglary.
Miraldi will not sentence the trio until the conclusion of Kirkland’s trial to ensure their cooperation in the proceedings.
Schafer made the initial call to 911 the morning of Aug. 29, 2016, after she said she found Holland lying in the bedroom of his Lexington Avenue apartment when she had arrived to braid his hair, police said at the time.
When dispatchers asked about the address of the apartment, Schafer told them she was returning to the residence because she’d left citing a fear that the perpetrators may have been watching the area, police said.
Officers compiled videos of Schafer and Kirkland buying 9 mm bullets that matched a shell casing later found in Thomas’ purse, investigators said.
They also found video of the pair stealing a laser sight for a handgun at the same Elyria sporting goods store.