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Kaluza trial to continue Monday
Trial against Hattie Gilbert and Taran Helms
Gallery
Suspects found guilty in the March 24 robbery and shooting of KFC manager Joseph Kaluza
Jury selection for this high-profile case took almost a week.
YOUNGSTOWN — Opening statements will be at 9 a.m. Monday in the jury trial of two suspects in the robbery and shooting that left KFC manager Joseph Kaluza paralyzed from the neck down.
The trial of Taran D. Helms and his girlfriend, Hattie L. Gilbert, is before Judge Timothy E. Franken of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, but it will be in the larger courtroom normally used by Judge Maureen A. Sweeney.
Jury selection in this high-profile case, which began Monday afternoon, was completed at 11 a.m. Friday, with 12 jurors and two alternates seated.
The selection process began with 50 potential jurors, with 30 more being added Wednesday to ensure a sufficient pool. Jury selection went until 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The first 21‚Ñ2 days of the process were spent with the judge and the lawyers individually interviewing prospective jurors concerning their exposure to publicity about the case and whether it influenced them. Those individual interviews were conducted Monday through Wednesday in the judge’s chambers out of earshot of the other jurors.
On Thursday and Friday, the jurors were asked general background questions in a group setting.
Jurors were asked if they’d seen graffiti concerning this case in the courthouse’s second-floor public men’s room. Three jurors said they’d used that restroom, but none said they saw the graffiti, which was promptly obliterated.
Jurors will not visit the crime scene. Neither the prosecution not the defense requested a jury view, Judge Franken said.
The prosecution plans to call about 27 witnesses to testify, including Kaluza.
To avoid disruption of the trial, the judge has imposed strict rules for media coverage, with only one TV camera and one still photographer permitted in the courtroom at a time. Media personnel may not use artificial camera lighting or display any identifying logos.
Spectator benches for the public can accommodate about 60 people.
Both defendants are charged with attempted murder, felonious assault, aggravated robbery and kidnapping, with firearm specifications to all counts. Both face between six and 50 years in prison if convicted of all counts and specifications.
Helms, 23, of West Hylda Avenue, is charged with robbing and shooting Kaluza. Police said Gilbert, 20, of East Judson Avenue, drove her car in the staged crash that preceded the March 24 robbery and shooting on the city’s South Side.
Kaluza, manager of the KFC on South Avenue, was driving south on South Avenue when a car cut him off and caused a crash, which was captured by a Western Reserve Transit Authority bus camera, police said.
The gunman pushed Kaluza’s car a short distance into a Hilton Avenue driveway, demanded money and received the $300 bank deposit. Kaluza was shot in the head and neck.
The case is being prosecuted by Kasey C. Shidel, assistant county prosecutor. Helms’ lawyer is John B. Juhasz. Gilbert’s lawyer is Martin E. Yavorcik.