Six men and six women will decide the fate of a Mahanoy City man charged with killing another borough resident last April in the alleged victim's residence.
Lawyers prosecuting and defending Jarvin M. Huggins, 19, took less than two hours Friday to select those jurors, plus two female alternates, for the trial, which Judge John E. Domalakes told them is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
"You and you alone determine what the facts are," Domalakes told the jurors before sending them home for the weekend.
A somber Huggins helped his lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Kent D. Watkins, select the jurors who will decide whether he is guilty of killing Gene M. Slavinsky, 48, on April 3, 2012.
Huggins, who is being held in prison without bail pending his trial, faces charges of criminal homicide, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, criminal trespass, theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
If convicted of either first- or second-degree murder, Huggins will be sentenced to life in prison, which in Pennsylvania does not include a possibility of parole. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty against him.
State police at Frackville allege that Huggins entered the basement of Slavinsky's 408 W. Centre St. home and, when the man came down the steps, beat him with a metal window weight.
Police said Huggins hit Slavinsky, whose body was found April 5, with the weight about 24 times. After beating Slavinsky, Huggins took coins, a laptop computer and a car, according to police.
District Attorney Karen Byrnes-Noon, who is prosecuting the case with Assistant District Attorney Douglas J. Taglieri, and Watkins asked prospective jurors questions about their ability to judge the case fairly.
"We want people who are open-minded," Byrnes-Noon said. "Our purpose is not to embarrass anyone."
Questions included whether the jurors knew the defendant, any of the lawyers or any of the possible witnesses in the case; whether they had a criminal record or were a crime victim; whether they could judge another person; and whether they could follow the law as Domalakes gives it to them.
Since the case does not involve a possible death penalty, the prospective jurors were not questioned individually.
Clerk of Courts Stephen M. Lukach Jr. said there were 60 prospective jurors questioned by the lawyers.Defendant: Jarvin M. Huggins
Age: 19
Residence: Mahanoy City
Charges: Criminal homicide, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, criminal trespass, theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle