Opening statements from attorneys in felony murder trial possible Tuesday

The felony murder trial of a Robins Air Force Base airman hit a speed bump in its first day Monday, forcing a delay in what is already expected to be a lengthy military proceeding.

Senior Airman Charles Amos Wilson III, 28, a support member of the 461st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, is accused of agreeing to pay a friend to set fire to Wilson’s rented residence in Warner Robins on Oct. 2, 2011. His friend, Demetrius Hardy, 27, a civilian worker at Robins, died eight days later from injuries he sustained in the early morning blaze.

Wilson has pleaded not guilty to felony murder, arson and other related charges against him.

Monday, challenges by prosecution and defense attorneys exhausted the first military panel of potential jurors without seating a jury.

Three members of the panel remained, but a quorum of at least five members is required. The convening authority, who is Lt. Gen. Lee K. Levy II in this case, is expected to add panel members.

Col. Vance H. Spath, who is presiding over the trial, expressed frustration from the bench that the convening authority would not be available until late Monday afternoon. Spath noted the trial is now a day behind schedule.

If a jury is seated after potential challenges from attorneys Tuesday, opening statements are possible in the afternoon. In military terms, the jury is known as a court-martial panel.

If Wilson is convicted, the same jury determines the sentence. Wilson is facing life with the possibility of parole or life without parole, if convicted of felony murder in Hardy’s death.

In military courts, the convening authority reviews the verdict and the sentence. If Wilson is convicted, he also is entitled to an appellate process that includes a possible appeal to the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, the Court of the Appeals of the Armed Forces and potentially the U.S. Supreme Court.

The military trial, the first of three courts-martial proceedings against Wilson, is being held at the Houston County Courthouse.

A second courts-martial proceeding against Wilson is scheduled for June 6. In that case, Wilson is accused of threatening and assaulting a retired technical sergeant in July 2012. He allegedly held a gun to her head, then fired it into a field near his home before later driving his pickup toward her in a threatening manner.

A date for the third courts-martial has not been set. In that case, Wilson is charged with the premeditated murder in the fatal shooting of his fiancee, Tameda Ferguson, and her unborn child at her Dawson home in August 2013 for $1 million in insurance money. Wilson may face the death penalty if convicted.

Wilson was being held Monday at the Houston County jail in Perry, where he has been incarcerated since May 13.

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Opening statements from attorneys in felony murder trial possible Tuesday."