By LEONARD GRAY

EDGARD – A second-degree murder trial was delayed this week to January 2003, because potential jurors failed to appear for the jury selection process.

The trial of Leonard Johnson, 45, of Edgard, was ordered delayed by 40th Judicial District Judge Mary Hotard Becnel when only 41 of 150 people summoned responded to their subpoenas.

Of those 41 who did appear in court, only 11 of the necessary 12 were able to be empaneled for the jury.

Since an insufficient number of jurors had been selected, Becnel released them all and ordered contempt of court citations on the 109 absent potential jurors.

“It was an unusually low turnout,” observed prosecutor William O’Regan. “It was frustrating that we couldn’t proceed.”

Johnson was charged with the August 2001 shooting death of his cousin, Kim Edwards, his next-door neighbor on E. Sixth Street in Edgard. He is defended by Guy Lillian of the Indigent Defender Board.

“The family of the victim is looking for a conclusion,” O’Regan added. “It’s very frustrating emotionally”

Names are pulled from parish voter registration records, utility customer rolls and from driver’s license records by the Clerk of Court’s office.

When the next round of subpoenas go out, the prosecutor said, there is a good chance some of them will be from the same jury pool who failed to show this time.

O’Regan added, “I don’t recall it’s ever happened to me. It’s very rare.”