Jury selection begins in 2008 murder of clerk
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on April 24, 2012 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MICHAEL BETTS
Joshua Earl Devon Davis, from right, Quentin Lamont Kenon and Rashard Vondarius Oliver sit in Wayne County Courtroom 1 before jury selection in their trial for the murder of Ribhi Mohammed Kandeel. The men are charged with murdering Kandeel during a robbery at the Brookside Convenient Mart on South Slocumb Street in August 2008.
Some shed tears as three men were escorted into a Wayne County courtroom Monday morning.
Others smiled -- waving at them and mouthing that everything would be OK, that they were loved.
But as soon as Special Superior Court Judge Jack Jenkins took his seat on the bench, the tone inside Courtroom No. 1 reflected the reality of the situation -- that, in a way, Joshua Earl Devon Davis, Quentin Lamont Kenon and Rashard Vondarius Oliver are on trial for their lives.
The three men charged in the 2008 first-degree murder of the owner of a convenience store entered pleas of not guilty before their attorneys, and Assistant District Attorney Mike Ricks, began vetting potential jurors.
And by day's end, only nine made it through the process -- leaving five seats, three jurors and two alternates, to be filled today before the state tries to prove that Davis, Kenon and Oliver are responsible for the shooting death of Ribhi Mohammed Kandeel.
Among those selected to determine whether the prosecution meets its burden are:
* A young white woman who works at a facility that specializes in traumatic brain injury.
* A middle-aged white woman who works at a medical facility.
* A young black man who works construction.
* A middle-aged black woman who works at a bank.
* A middle-aged black man who is currently unemployed.
* A middle-aged black woman who works at a post office.
* A middle-aged white woman who works at the Cooperative Extension.
* A middle-aged white woman who works as a public speaker.
* A young white woman who does accounting work.
Once jury selection is complete, opening statements will begin.
Jenkins said he expects the trial to be completed by the end of next week.
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