ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The trial of one of two men accused of a mistaken identity murder was under way on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Michael Garay and his accomplice, Robert Pascale, thought 79-year-old Hugh Edwards was a sex offender, so they beat him to death with a baseball bat.
Garay tried to fire his defense attorney on Wednesday at the last minute.
However, Circuit Judge Mike Murphy ruled that his arguments were not legally sufficient, so Garay decided not to represent himself and decided to keep the attorney.
Before the potential jurors came into the courtroom, prosecutors said they had offered Garay a plea deal that would have put him in prison for about 33 years.
If Garay is convicted of first-degree murder, he could go to prison for the rest of his life.
However, Garay told the judge he will take his chances with a jury.
A pool of 45 people has been called up for the case.
The preliminaries from the judge were given to them Wednesday morning, and then lawyers will get a chance to question the jurors.
Prosecutors also accused Garay of helping Pascale of get rid of the bat, which was later found in a lake.
Pascale will go to trial at a later date.
WFTV
