SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A jury was seated Monday evening in the trial of a local Warlocks Motorcycle Club member in Seminole County.
Paul Smith is charged with three counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection with the September 2012 shootout.
Jury selection began at the Seminole County Courthouse Monday morning. State Attorney Stewart Stone addressed about 75 potential jurors, many of which said they had already heard about the incident.
Around 7 p.m., a jury was seated in the case. The jurors are made up of three men and five women, two of which are alternates.
Smith is accused of firing the first shot at the motorcycle charity event at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Winter Springs. Investigators said it was a 'turf war' between two rival motorcycle groups.
Smith and three other men were charged in the shootings that left three men from the rival club dead. Two of the other defendants are already serving lengthy sentences.
In April, Warlocks member and suspect David Malony was acquitted of attempted murder and murder charges. A mistrial was declared on another attempted murder charge in that trial. Malony is listed as a potential witness in Smith's trial.
His attorney is claiming Smith opened fire in self-defense when a rival Warlock tried to run him down on a motorcycle.
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