Jury seated in Curtis Reeves' murder trial in Pasco movie theater killing

[Zorro]

After days of grueling questioning, the six-person jury in the murder trial of the retired Tampa police captain has been seated. Opening statements are set to begin Monday.

DADE CITY — It wasn’t pretty, and it certainly wasn’t easy, but after four long days inside Pasco County’s Dade City courthouse, six jurors and four alternates were finally seated Thursday evening.

That day was supposed to be the start of retired Tampa police captain Curtis Reeves’ second-degree murder trial for the fatal shooting of 43-year-old father Chad Oulson at a Wesley Chapel movie theater in January 2014.

That was eight years ago, a point that’s led state prosecutors and lawyers representing Oulson’s widow to question whether Reeves’ defense team has purposefully filed motion after motion, challenge after challenge, to prolong their client’s day in court. Now 79, Reeves has spent much of the past eight years under house arrest after his release from jail on $150,000 bond in July 2014.

But as the clock ticked past 4 p.m. on Thursday, and then past 4:30 p.m., Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Susan Barthle made it clear that Reeves’ trial would proceed as planned next week — and not a single day later.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/pasco/2022/02/10/jury-seated-in-curtis-reeves-murder-trial-in-pasco-movie-theater-killing/

So the trial begins only 8 years after the retired police captain killed another moviegoer after getting upset about the victim texting during the previews...

[Dreampuff]

1. Finally!

I was so relieved to see the judge finally force them to move along. Personally, I think Reeves should have been behind bars 8 years ago last month and stayed there. He is so arrogant! I remember a couple of times when he asked for ridiculous things like to be taken off house arrest so he could at least walk around his neighborhood. He also complained that it cost too much for his guns to be in storage after they confiscated them and asked them to be returned to him and if they wouldn't give him back to him, he would let his son keep them. I think way too much leeway was given to him because he had been in law enforcement and the rest of us wouldn't have seen daylight these past 8 years while he has been relaxing at home. He still doesn't seem to comprehend that he took someone's life and a loved one from others.

I was only able to partially listen to it, but apparently there are going to be a couple more witnesses to testify how he harassed them at that same movie theater. Apparently he spent his life as a bully demanding that people obey him and just can't understand why he doesn't have that authority anymore. I still don't understand why the texting was bothering him so much or why he just couldn't move to another seat.