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Second phase of jury selection underway for man accused of killing 2 Kissimmee police officers

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Potential jurors for the trial of a man accused of killing two Kissimmee police officers are being questioned on their thoughts about the death penalty Friday.

Everett Miller, a Marine veteran, is facing the death penalty if he is convicted on murder charges for the deaths of Officer Matthew Baxter and Sgt. Sam Howard. Prosecutors say Miller shot both men after he confronted them about questioning two other people about open beer cans.

The jury pool has been narrowed from 204 to 55 this week. The remaining 55 were being questioned about their stance on the death penalty Friday.

In the first group of 10 potential jurors Friday, two of them said they had feelings about the death penalty. One told the judge that for religious reasons he could never vote for the death penalty under any circumstances.

If they find 12 jurors and four alternates from this group of jurors, they plan to do opening statements Tuesday. If a full jury isn’t seated before then, the judge has ordered another 76 jurors to come in for questioning Tuesday and Wednesday to try to find enough people.

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