CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia judge has ruled that jury selection will begin this week for a man accused of killing a Charleston police officer.
Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Bailey said during a pretrial hearing on Tuesday that jury selection for Joshua Phillips will begin Thursday, ahead of the trial scheduled to begin Monday, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.
The judge declined to rule on a motion from defense attorneys to move the trial out of Kanawha County.
“I believe the appropriate thing to do is to continue to hold the motion in abeyance to consider, as I had indicated previously, whether or not a jury could be properly selected in this case with a greater number of persons available only for this trial,” Bailey said.
Phillips is charged with fatally shooting Officer Cassie Johnson, 28, in 2020 when she responded to a parking lot complaint.
