Testimony begins in Ocoee home invasion trial

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Testimony began Thursday in a high-profile home invasion trial in Orange County.

After four days of questioning, a jury has finally been seated in the trial.

Bessman Okafor and his co-defendant, Nolan Bernard, are accused of breaking into an Ocoee home last year.

The first victim testified in the trial of Okafor and Bernard.

Brienna Campos said she was shocked and completely scared. She said Okafor and Bernard apparently had the wrong house, looking for someone she didn't know, asking if it was a grow house.

Campos told the jury that she was in the living room watching a movie when the two men burst into her Ocoee house.

She described the guns both of them had and described how they looked and what they were wearing.

Campos said Bernard was ransacking the house looking for stuff to steal after they figured out it wasn't a grow house.

She said Okafor held her, her brother and a friend at gunpoint.

"Bessman Okafor kept us at gunpoint, and made sure that our faces were staying flat down, but because I have such long hair, I can turn my face to the left or right and he doesn't know the difference. So I'm able to keep him in view and watch what he's doing as he's going from me, Will and Brandon, putting the gun to the back of our heads, saying, 'Don't move, don't look or I'll pop off,'" Campos said.

Many potentional jurors said they'd heard about the murder case prosecutors believe was also linked to the crime. Others told the court they, too, were victims of home invasions.

For four days, Okafor and Bernard listened to potential jurors talk about their possible prejudices.

They're on trial for allegedly breaking into an Ocoee home last year, tying up the three housemates and robbing them at gunpoint.

Things were not looking good for the defendants Wednesday when the people who could decide their innocence or guilt told the court they have been victims of home invasions or robberies.

Potential juror: "The perpetrators knocked down the door during the day thinking no one was home and my uncle was home. He's elderly and um, doesn't hear very well. I guess they saw that he was home. They took off so they didn't steal anything, but he was pretty traumatized."

Some of the potential jurors said they'd had run-ins with the law, but felt they were treated fairly.

At no time during this trial can Alex Zaldivar's name come up. Prosecutors said Okafor killed him months after the home invasion to keep him from testifying in the trial.

WFTV