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The jury trial of Pejman Elahi began yesterday, (April 11) at the San Bernardino Superior Court in Joshua Tree. The trial has experienced multiple delays since Elahi was arrested back in November of 2022 for a shooting that left a victim with 3 gunshot wounds and nearby Palm Vista elementary school locked down.
Elahi is a convicted felon, and a subsequent search of his home resulted in additional charges for weapon possessions on top of the attempted murder.
Elahi was present yesterday for the beginning of jury selection. He was wearing a suit and had grown his hair slightly from earlier court appearances. Elahi’s lawyer John Paul-Serrao asked potential jurors if their opinion would be swayed by someone choosing not to testify in their own case. The representative for the state of California – prosecuting attorney Heather Razook – focused on how a potential juror judges someone’s credibility, and if they could think of a reason why a victim of a violent crime would change their story.
Jurors were also asked if the sight of blood or the discussion of guns would cause them to be uncomfortable or unable to perform their civic duty fairly.
Jury selection took all morning and continued after the lunch break, when after several rounds of voir dire and the dismissal of potential jurors, the jury pool ran out of enough alternates to select a full set of 12 with alternates – and will finish on Thursday morning when the case continues.
Previously Reported:
