http://www.wdsu.com/news/local...ndergartner/30707270
Testimony has begun in the double-murder trial for three men charged in the shooting deaths of 5-year-old Briana Allen and 33-year-old Shawanna "Nonnie" Pierce.
Due to the complexity of the case, jury selection lasted two full days and wrapped up Wednesday morning, before opening statements were delivered.
The state told the 12 jurors and five alternates they had overwhelming evidence to convict all three defendants.
Tyron Harden, Sam Newman and Demond Sandifer are being tried together for their alleged roles in the May 2012 drive-by shooting in Central City.
When the smoke cleared, five people had been shot, two fatally. Briana died in her father's arms at her grandmother's house on Simon Bolivar, where the family was celebrating her cousin's 10th birthday.
Pierce, a mother of three, was sitting at a nearby stoplight in her rental car, according to police, when a stray bullet struck her in the head, killing her on the spot.
The shooting led to a sweeping 51-count indictment and a dozen arrests of alleged members of the 110ers, a street gang accused of wreaking havoc in New Orleans and responsibility for multiple murders, including those of Briana and Pierce.