Protesters demonstrate as Hamad jury selection begins

WARREN

Less than nine months after a deadly confrontation in front of Nasser Hamad’s home along the busy state Route 46 commercial corridor near Eastwood Mall, jurors are being selected in Hamad’s aggravated murder trial.

The selection process began this morning in Trumbull County Courthouse with introductory remarks from Judge Ronald Rice of county common pleas court to the 173 prospective jurors called for the case.

Judge Rice explained the prospective jurors’ obligation to avoid any news coverage of the trial, to stay away from social media and to otherwise refrain from activities that could jeopardize their ability to serve impartially on the jury.

Because the death penalty is a possibility in this case, an especially large number of jurors were summoned for the case compared to most other murder trials. Jury selection, which will begin in earnest Thursday, is likely to take about a week.

Starting Thursday afternoon, prospective jurors will be questioned by prosecutors and defense attorneysin an effort to seat 12 jurors and four alternates.

Trial testimony, likely to begin next week, is expected to take about three weeks.

In addition to be a potential death-penalty case, it is also high profile for other reasons, including the busy commercial location where the shootings took place on Feb. 25 with numerous people witnessing the shootings and aftermath.

It also has drawn attention because of the bold personality of the defendant.

Hamad, 48, a businessman, confronted a prosecutor in the case during his arraignment in March, asking Assistant Prosecutor Chris Becker if he is a “Zionist Jew.” One of Hamad’s attorneys and some Hamad supporters have suggested that anti-Muslim sentiments have played a role in the conflict.

Protesters staged a demonstration near the intersection of High Street and North Park Avenue starting around noon Wednesday.

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.