The trial of accused gunman David Patrick Malone began in earnest Wednesday in Durham County Superior Court, with a drawn-out completion of jury selection, opening arguments and some initial testimony.
The lawyers laid out their strategies in the opening of what promises to last about another week: the trial of the man accused of holding three people at gunpoint in President Nan Keohane's office last year. Arguments focused on Malone's intent.
Assistant District Attorney Mitchell Garrell made "terror" the theme of his arguments, emphasizing that Malone's loaded handgun was cocked and that his backpack held 32 additional rounds.
Police arrested the 46-year-old Malone last Sept. 6, after he entered Keohane's second-floor Allen Building office with a loaded .32-caliber gun. He was later charged with three counts of first-degree kidnapping and one count of having a weapon on campus.
"It was his purpose, I think the evidence will show, to instill terror in the women working in that office," Garrell said. "You will hear these witnesses say that the defendant never pointed the gun at his own head. Instead, he pointed it at them."
By contrast, Assistant Public Defender Shannon Tucker argued that Malone's attempt to meet with Keohane--allegedly to discuss unethical practices in the Medical Center--was noble. She did not dispute that Malone entered Keohane's office three times, including once with a gun, but said that his intent and purpose should be considered.
"For evil to persevere, good men have only to do nothing," Tucker said. "This man had one thing on his mind--a meeting with the president, Nan Keohane."
Testimony from Joni Harris, former assistant to Keohane and an alleged hostage, followed opening arguments. Many of her answers addressed the chronology of Malone's actions, but Garrell asked several questions about what Harris thought Malone's intentions were. Each time Harris said she thought her life was in danger.
Opening statements and evidence began only at the last hour of the session. Court was delayed for an hour in the morning when the stenographer was replaced due to illness, and lawyers spent until 4 p.m. picking jury members.
All 12 of the jurors were chosen Tuesday and early Wednesday before one citizen who had initially been picked was belatedly disqualified for hardship reasons, delaying the completion of jury selection. The court had to interview 14 more jurors to fill the final spot and the two alternate spots.
Eleven of the 14 potential jurors had some connection to Duke, including two of the three chosen.
Other potential conflicts of interest drew repeated questions from lawyers and seemed to cause their disqualification: economic hardships, attention to media coverage, being a past victim of an armed assault, dislike of firearms and working in a mental hospital. One juror said she might have once known Malone. Another said explicitly that he could not be impartial.
A motion by Garrell failed in its attempt to allow the three alleged hostages--Harris, Lisa Jordan and Jamie Dupre--to listen to proceedings before their respective testimonies. Garrell said they have a right, as victims, under the North Carolina Constitution to follow the proceedings, but Judge James Spencer declined to overturn his earlier decision.
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