NORWICH – Jury selection in the trial of a second man charged with felony burglary in August of 2010 wrapped up yesterday afternoon and the prosecution is confident the case against Anthony Pierce will be in the hands of the jury sometime today or early Thursday.
Just last week, Pierce’s co-defendant Daniel Sabines was found guilty of second degree burglary following two days of testimony and less than an hour of deliberation by a jury of his peers.
Pierce has also been charged with second degree burglary, a class C felony, and is accused of entering a residence at 22 Beebe Ave. he though unoccupied, with the intent to commit a crime, when Sabines was confronted by the home’s owner. Pierce is alleged to have escaped the home through a front window, according to the prosecution, while Sabines fled the house through a back door.
Judge W. Howard Sullivan, after welcoming the potential members of the jury, stressed that the alleged crime was not a “mundane, everyday thing,” and reminded them that it is “an important role you play.”
The job of the jury, he added, is to determine the facts in the case against Pierce.
District Attorney Joseph McBride took a few moments to welcome potential jurors, explaining to them the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence. Because Pierce was not seen by the homeowner at 22 Beebe Ave., it’s up to the district attorney’s office to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Pierce was – in fact – involved in the crime.
According to McBride, it’s a simple burglary case, in which Pierce acted in concert with Sabines. If he can prove that, he added, it’s up to the jury to come back with a conviction. Pierce must, he said, be held to the same standard, and is just as guilty as Sabines if the two truly were acting in concert.
In the end, said McBride, the most important thing is for the jury to be both fair and impartial. As in any criminal case, the burden of proof lies with the prosecution, he added.
Defense attorney Scott Clippinger introduced Pierce to the potential members of the jury and asked them for one thing and one thing only – justice.
Said Clippinger, “Nothing more and nothing less.”
Like McBride, he added he is simply looking for an unbiased jury.
Before adjourning court for the day, Sullivan instructed jurors not to discuss the case with one another, read any newspaper accounts of the trial or attempt to contact the attorneys, witnesses or the defendant involved in the trail. Jurors were also told not to visit the site of the alleged crime or to discuss it with family or friends.