Jury selection began Monday in the trial of the Clayton County teen accused of fatally shooting a sheriff’s deputy last July.
Johnathan Bun, 17, is charged with murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, obstruction and a host of other offenses in connection with the July 20 shooting death of Clayton County Sheriff’s deputy Richard Daly.
Daly, a deputy for more than 20 years, was making a traffic stop as part of a Sheriff’s fugitive squad effort to arrest Bun for an alleged armed robbery earlier in 2011.
According to police reports, Bun opened fire on Daly as the deputy approached the passenger side of the car the teen was riding in.
One of Bun’s shots got underneath Daly’s protective ballistic vest, fatally wounding the deputy, authorities said.
Bun fled into a nearby wooded area, leading to a nearly six-hour manhunt that involved dozens of law enforcement agencies from around the metro Atlanta area.
But Bun’s capture didn’t end his saga.
As a GBI investigation began, Clayton District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson recused herself from prosecuting the case because she had dealt with Bun as a Clayton juvenile judge.
Bun was moved to the Henry County jail after accusations were made by his mother that Clayton jail employees, many of them Daly’s fellow deputies, had threatened the teen.
Another Clayton Juvenile Court judge, Steven Teske, released Bun’s juvenile criminal records, claiming that the youth was “showing no signs of remorse.”
And Bun’s father, Hing Bun, was pegged for deportation back to his native Cambodia by the U.S. Immigrations and Customs agency, for allegedly bribing a federal officer.
Defense attorney Lloyd Matthews, a Clayton public defender, had Bun evaluated for competency to stand trial; he was deemed capable.
Then Matthews requested to have the trial moved and the entire Clayton District Attorney’s office disqualified from prosecuting, citing the extreme media coverage of the shooting and arguing that his client could not get a fair trial and Lawson’s previous relationship.
Clayton Senior Superior Court Judge Deborah Benefield denied both requests.
Opening statements in the trial could begin as early as Tuesday.
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