A trial date has been set in the Clarke County case of Jamie Donnell Hood who is accused of murdering a police officer and a civilian four years ago, the Athens Banner-Herald reported Monday.
Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard on Thursday scheduled June 1 as the day to start jury selection in the death penalty case, the newspaper said.
Haggard had earlier ruled that the jurors should be chosen from Elbert County because of pre-trial publicity. Hood, 37, who is acting as his own attorney, has argued that the jurors should be chosen from DeKalb or Fulton counties.
Hood is accused of murdering Officer Elmer “Buddy” Christian III on March 22, 2011 after wounding Officer Tony Howard. He is also accused of murdering Kenneth Omari Wray in December 2010 and the cases are linked for trial.
The officers were shot when searching for Hood in a kidnapping case. He had served time in prison for armed robbery and was released a few years before the 2011 case that started with him searching for a drug dealer and ended with him surrendering after a hostage situation.
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