Hibbing homicide defendant waives jury trial
Mar. 7—The Hibbing man accused of killing one person and wounding another in a Christmas Day shooting has waived his right to appear before a jury.
Jerome Dionte Spann told Judge Rachel Sullivan on Friday that he will have her serve as the sole fact-finder at his murder and assault trial, which is scheduled to begin in late April.
Spann, 31, faces mandatory life imprisonment without release if convicted of premeditated first-degree murder in the killing of 34-year-old Jeryel McBeth. He's also charged with intentional second-degree murder and second-degree assault in the Dec. 25, 2018, shooting, which also injured 25-year-old Jamien Stuckey.
Spann's trial is set to begin April 28 at the St. Louis County Courthouse in Hibbing.
Initially, three days had been set aside for the laborious jury selection process, which has been complicated by COVID-19 procedures requiring smaller group questioning. But now, attorneys will head straight into opening statements and testimony.
Most defendants who proceed to trial prefer a jury, which must reach a unanimous verdict in order to convict — 12 in a felony case. But some occasionally request to have their cases decided by a judge in what is referred to as a bench trial.
Sullivan and defense attorney Elizabeth Polling both asked Spann a series of questions at a virtual hearing of State District Court, reiterating his jury rights and affirming his decision to go without.
"This is your decision and your decision alone, correct?" the judge asked.
"Yes," Spann replied from a hearing room at the St. Louis County Jail.
Prosecutors allege that Spann exited an SUV shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Christmas night and fired into a group of people standing outside a residence at 2408 Third Ave. E. in Hibbing.
McBeth was hit three times — in the chest, shoulder and forearm — according to a criminal complaint. The defendant allegedly continued firing another four or five rounds, striking Stuckey and nearly wounding another man before fleeing the scene.
Authorities said the shooting came amid a feud between Spann and McBeth. A Hibbing police officer testified to a grand jury that he had responded to Spann's residence a day before the killing after the defendant called 911 to report McBeth "banging on his door and threatening to assault him."
Other witnesses testified that Spann had been carrying a handgun and had been threatening McBeth's life in the weeks before the killing.
Spann intends to rely on an alibi defense at trial, Polling said in January.
Spann has remained jailed for more than two years, with bail set at $500,000.
