LAWTON, Okla., May 10 (UPI) -- Jury selection is under way in the Oklahoma trial of a man charged with killing a state trooper who was investigating a methamphetamine lab.
Prospective jurors were questioned Monday in the trial of Ricky Ray Malone, charged with first-degree murder, the Oklahoman reported. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Malone allegedly shot and killed Trooper Nikky Joe Green on a rural road Dec. 26, 2003 after the officer found a makeshift methamphetamine lab in his car. Surveillance tapes show Green begging for his life before he was shot with his own handgun.
Malone confessed he killed the trooper during interrogation by the FBI and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, an affidavit stated.
Dozens of prospective jurors were excused in the first day of questioning by attorneys. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
