Jury selection process beginning for alleged deputy killer’s trial

Prospective jurors are scheduled to convene Monday, a month before testimony begins in the trial for Christopher Calmer, the man charged with murder in the 2014 shooting death of a Monroe County deputy.

If convicted, Calmer could face the death penalty.

Although the trial will be held in Forsyth beginning June 5, jurors from Upson County will be deciding Calmer’s fate.

On Monday and Tuesday, the judge and attorneys in the case are scheduled to sort through any requests to be excused posed by the 300 summoned jurors.

Calmer, who has been held at the Crisp County jail awaiting trial, reportedly attempted suicide in March, cutting himself in the shower.

His attorneys have filed a motion asking that his competency be re-examined before the trial. Evidence on the matter is set to be heard at a Thursday hearing, said Jonathan Adams, district attorney for the Towaliga Circuit District.

Calmer, who was found competent by jurors in August 2016, is accused of fatally shooting deputy Michael Norris and injuring deputy Jeff Wilson Sept. 13, 2014, after they responded to a report of a suicidal person at Calmer’s parents’ home near Bolingbroke.

Jury selection for the June trial is set to begin May 9.

This story was originally published April 28, 2017 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Jury selection process beginning for alleged deputy killer’s trial."