FAYETTEVILLE — A jury was selected Tuesday in the corruption trial of former state Sen. Jon Woods and consultant Randell G. Shelton Jr., the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Six men and six women, with two female alternates, were chosen.
Jury selection started Monday with a pool of 70, as U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks went over the list of 160 potential witnesses and questioned prospective jurors, finishing Tuesday morning. Sixteen potential jurors were dismissed by the judge.
Defense attorneys and prosecutors then questioned the remaining would-be jurors.
Patrick Benca of Little Rock, Woods’ attorney, asked about prejudices against consultants and lobbyists. He also asked if they could believe a person would confess to a crime he did not commit.
Chad Atwell of Fayetteville, attorney for Shelton, asked if they could believe one person is guilty of a crime but believe a co-defendant to be innocent.
Thirty-two names were randomly chosen from the pool after questioning. Attorneys for both sides were given nine strikes each — a total of 18 — to reach a 12-person jury with two alternates.
Brooks warned the prospective jurors the trial is expected to take three weeks and could take four.
Woods, a Springdale resident; Oren Paris III, former president of Ecclesia College in Springdale; and Shelton, formerly of Alma, are accused of participating in a kickback scheme and were indicted in March 2017 by a grand jury. Paris pleaded guilty just before a pre-trial hearing April 4 to one count of conspiracy and will testify for the government.
Woods is accused of taking kickbacks from Paris in return for directing $550,000 in state General Improvement Fund grants to Ecclesia, all in 2013 or 2014. Paris disguised the kickbacks as consulting fees paid to Shelton who then passed the money along, the government contends.
Former state Rep. Micah Neal of Springdale pleaded guilty to also receiving kickbacks from Paris and is expected to testify in the trial. Neal pleaded guilty Jan. 4, 2017, to one count of conspiracy. His sentence is pending.
Woods faces 15 counts of fraud, all relating to either wire or mail transfers of money. Paris and Shelton were named in 14 of the fraud charges. All three were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. Woods is also charged with one count of money laundering in connection with the purchase of a cashier’s check.
Paris pleaded guilty to transferring $50,000 of $200,000 in grant money from Woods and Neal to Shelton. Shelton sent $40,000 of the money to Woods as a kickback, according to Paris’ plea. Shelton’s defense will argue the money was a loan that had nothing to do with the Ecclesia grant, his attorneys have said.
Shelton disputes statements made by Paris in his plea, defense attorney Shelly Koehler of Fayetteville, said after the pretrial hearing last week. The $50,000 was payment for consulting services rendered, she said. Testimony will show Shelton did the work he was paid to do, she said.
Benca also said Woods remains innocent of the charges and will prove it despite Paris’ guilty plea.
The case involves grants from the state General Improvement Fund, which is controlled by legislators. The state Supreme Court declared the method of distribution unconstitutional in a ruling Oct. 5 of last year.
Check back with Arkansas Online for updates on this developing story and read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
