Jurors selected in case of shots fired at agents
Statements scheduled today in Woodson man’s U.S. trial
Jury selection got underway Tuesday in the trial of a Pulaski County man accused of assault and attempted murder of two federal agents investigating a drug trafficking ring based out of the south part of the county in late 2021.
Jackie Davidson, 51, of Woodson, is facing counts of use of a deadly weapon to assault a federal law enforcement officer, attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and two counts of using, brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and could face 40 years or more in prison if convicted on all charges.
After dealing with some last minute housekeeping Tuesday morning, U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky, along with Assistant U.S. attorneys Stephanie Mazzanti and John Ray White, and defense attorneys Molly Sullivan and Cheryl Barnard began the jury selection process.
The 51 prospective jurors filed into the courtroom about 10:30 a.m. to receive preliminary jury instructions and to begin the process of voir dire, which took about five hours to winnow the pool down to the 12 jurors and 2 alternates seated to hear the trial. Just after 3:30 p.m., Heather Clark, Rudofsky’s courtroom deputy, swore the eight men, four women and two alternates in and Rudofsky dismissed them with instructions to avoid news reports regarding the trial and to not talk with anyone about it while the trial is in progress.
“No email, texts, blogs, or anything else discussing the trial either,” he said. “And don’t talk with one another about it until all the evidence is in and you begin your deliberations.”
Rudofsky said it is critical that none of the jurors form opinions about the case until all of the evidence has been heard.
During voir dire, Rudofsky questioned the jury pool on a wide range of matters, asking if any had ever been shot at, ever been wrongfully accused, or ever been or know anyone who was a victim of gun violence. Several times, he allowed prospective jurors to answer questions at the bench as he and the attorneys for both sides gathered while white noise piped over the courtroom sound system prevented the rest of the courtroom from hearing their answers.
Despite the gravity of the proceedings, there were moments of levity, such as during an exchange between Rudofsky and a man who said a high school friend of his is employed with the Arkansas State Police.
“Are you close?” Rudofsky asked.
“I was in his wedding,” the man answered.
“Do you talk a lot about his job?” Rudofsky asked.
“Mostly about writing tickets,” was the man’s response.
“That’s what he does?” Rudofsky asked, at which point the others in the jury pool broke out in laughter.
An even bigger laugh came when Rudofsky asked the jury pool if anyone in the room felt like they had reason to distrust the judicial system.
“Man, that’s a loaded question,” said one man.
To every juror who gave affirmative answers to Rudofsky’s interrogatories, the judge quizzed them further, asking if they could be fair and impartial in judging the evidence, to which most answered affirmatively.
About 2:30 p.m., Rudofsky dismissed the jury pool and the attorneys began comparing notes and deciding which jurors to strike. After about an hour the pool was narrowed down to the 14 men and women who will sit to hear the evidence against Davidson and his defense against the charges.
According to court documents, on Nov. 16, 2021, ATF Agent James O’Connor and DEA Task Force Officer Johnny Sowell were conducting surveillance in an area along Woodson Lateral Road and attempted to turn the black SUV they were in around after turning down a narrow, dead-end dirt road. As they were driving back toward Woodson Lateral Road, records said, the two saw a man, later identified as Davidson, emerge from the wood line next to Lee Street carrying a camouflaged long gun and walk to the middle of the street.
According to a heavily redacted order filed by Rudofsky last week referencing information from Davidson’s attorneys, Davidson said he had a near violent encounter two days earlier with a civilian “with whom Mr. Davidson had a pre-existing, contentious relationship.”
Davidson told investigators that he believed the SUV was the same one driven by the civilian two days earlier so he said he stepped out into the middle of the one lane road to confront the driver, but had to step out of the way as the SUV drove past him. At that time, Davidson told investigators, he fired a warning shot from a shotgun he was carrying that struck the rear of the SUV, at which point the shotgun jammed.
Davidson said he then fired several warning shots in the air with a pistol hoping to dissuade the person he thought was driving from returning.
But, “the SUV’s occupants were two federal law enforcement officers conducting surveillance on a man who lived on property neighboring Mr. Davidson,” Rudofsky wrote. “That is how Mr. Davidson … ended up facing charges of assault and attempted murder of federal agents.”
Rudofsky’s ruling granted a U.S. motion to prohibit Davidson from arguing self-defense and to exclude any evidence from trial that would only have relevance to a self-defense claim, ruling that self-defense is not applicable because at the time he fired on the SUV, it had passed him and was driving away. But the order stopped short of prohibiting the inclusion of evidence that holds relevance to other general innocence arguments, such as evidence of Davidson’s intent.
Mazzanti and White said they expect to complete the government’s case by midday Wednesday. Sullivan and Barnard said they expect to finish their defense by midto-late afternoon Thursday, at which time it is expected attorneys for both sides will present closing statements and the case will go to the jury for deliberation. Rudofsky said he plans to adhere as closely as possible to a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule until the jury begins its deliberations.
He ordered the jurors to return at 9 a.m. this morning for opening statements from both sides, at which time Mazzanti and White will begin their presentation of the government’s evidence against Davidson.