Jury hears about Ohio ex-deputy fatally shooting unarmed man

WAVERLY, Ohio (AP) — A Pike County deputy unnecessarily fired nine times through the windows of an unarmed driver’s stopped vehicle at the end of a high-speed chase on country roads and hit the man seven times, a prosecutor told jurors as the former officer’s murder trial got underway in southern Ohio.

A defense attorney told the jury that former deputy Joel Jenkins feared for his life and was justified in firing at the driver, who had sped away from a traffic stop and tried to ram law enforcement vehicles before the March 2015 shooting.

Jurors were driven along the path of the pursuit Tuesday before they heard opening arguments in the first of two cases over fatal shootings by Jenkins. The jury may hear testimony from Jenkins himself later in the trial, which is expected to take days.

No trial has been scheduled in the second shooting.