Jury selection for the trial of Emmanuel Spann who is accused of first-degree murder in the 2017 death of Burlington resident Demarcus Chew began Wednesday and is still ongoing.
Though the selection process has ceased for the weekend, it will resume next week, leading to what is expected to be a roughly two-week trial.
Chew was shot to death in the backseat of a car outside his mother’s house in Burlington during the early morning hours of Sept. 10, 2017. He had returned from a night on the town in Gulfport, Ill., and was shot shortly before 6 a.m.
The Des Moines County Attorney's office, which is prosecuting the case, accuses Spann of conspiring with four other men in the murder — Andre Harris, Caesar Davison, Derrick Parker, and Antoine Spann. Prosecutors say the murder was $20,000 hit job issued by a Chicago gang.
Like Emmanuel Spann, Davison has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. The other three alleged conspirators, who have already pled guilty to various charges, will testify against Emmanuel Spann in his trial. If convicted of first-degree murder, he would face a mandatory life sentence.