Jury Selected, Retrial Of Pharmacy Shooting Murder Suspect Underway

After two days of jury selection, a jury of 7 women and 7 men were selected to hear the retrial of Emanuel Mitchell. 

Mitchell was convicted of murder in 2011. He's accused of being the mastermind behind an attempted robbery of a pharmacy southwest Oklahoma City where a pharmacist shot and killed one of the two teens sent in to rob the place.

It has been a unique case all the way around. Not only is Mitchell representing himself, he also has to where a shock sleeve on his leg, which is kind of like a shock collar to prevent any potential angry outbursts during the trial.

Deputies are on standby with the remotes that activate the sleeve. That's because during the last trial, Mitchell sucker punched the DA in the face and also bit an officer while the guilty verdict was being read in court.

Both the DA and the judge had to guide Mitchell during parts of the trial, and you could sense their frustration. At one point Mitchell even asked if he could appoint another attorney to take over part of the case, but the judge denied the motion- stating Mitchell requested to represent himself pro se during this retrial.

Sixteen-year-old Antwon Parker died of his injuries. A jury convicted the pharmacist, Jerome Ersland, of first-degree murder for the shooting. He is currently serving a life sentence.

Both Mitchell and his cousin, Anthony D. “Black” Morrison, 47, were charged and convicted of murder, since a person died during the commission of a crime they helped plan.

But in 2013, the court of appeals overturned Mitchell's conviction, saying the judge made a mistake by not allowing Mitchell to represent himself, even though he filed a motion to do so during the first trial. Mitchell plans to represent himself at the retrial, but does have counsel on standby to help in his defense.

6/1/2015 Related Story: Pharmacy Shooting Murder Suspect To Represent Himself In Retrial

Both Mitchell and Oklahoma County DA David Prater presented their opening statements late Tuesday afternoon.

The first witness to take the stand during Mitchell's retrial was Jevontai Ingram, who was with Parker during the attempted robbery. Surveillance video from the Reliable Pharmacy shows he was the one who held the gun during the attempted holdup. Both Parker and Ingram wore ski masks during the holdup.

During the state's turn to question, Prater asked Ingram about the day of the attempted robbery and shooting. Prater asked Ingram what he remembered about that day, where he was, where Parker was, and where Ersland was when bullets started flying.

Ingram testified Mitchell drove him and Parker to the pharmacy in a Honda. He said after Ersland pulled a gun and started shooting, he ran out of the pharmacy, ran down the street, jumped a line of bushes, and ducked down to check his own gun, which he says turned out to have a clip with no bullets. He testified he then ran into the street and jumped in the car with Mitchell and they drove off.

Ingram says he kept yelling "Speedy, Speedy" which was Parker's nickname. He says Mitchell said he should be alright, but claims neither had seen him come out of the pharmacy. That's because Parker was still inside lying on the ground after getting shot; a fact supported by the surveillance video.

During cross examination, Mitchell asked Ingram about his domestic violence charge and if he was a liar. Ingram and Mitchell stared each other down during most of the questioning. Mitchell kept questioning Ingram's honesty and credibility.

Ingram also testified about feeling threatened by gang members who were pressuring him to recant his prior testimony against Mitchell while they were both in the county jail awaiting the first trial. Ingram testified both he and Mitchell were members of gangs affiliated with the Crips, but from different sects.

The second witness who took the stand was Rozena Sailes, who has a child with Anthony Morrison. Morrison was also convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in connection with the deadly pharmacy shooting.

Both Morrison and Mitchell are accused of planning the robbery and sending in both Parker and Ingram into the pharmacy that resulted in Parker's death. She testified how she recently had reconnected with Morrison and now they came to her home after the shooting happened. Mitchell will have an opportunity to cross examine Sailes Thursday.

The trial is expected to take at least a week.