Lisa Marchesoni, Senior Writer
Posted: Friday, January 8, 2010 3:53 pm

Jury selection for a former sheriff’s sergeant’s trial for killing an 11-year-old girl in a traffic crash will start Feb. 8, a judge decided Friday.

Former Detective Sgt. Ron Killings is being tried for reckless homicide of Lakeisha White. Killings is accused of killing Lakeisha in a traffic crash in July 2007 on Bradyville Pike.

Prosecutor Joe Baugh said previously Killings’ car showed a speed of 62 mph in a 40 mph speed zone when he struck Lakeisha who was a pedestrian.

Because of pretrial publicity, the jury is being chosen from Hamilton County and transported for trial in Rutherford County.

Baugh asked Circuit Court Judge David Bragg to choose the jury earlier than the day before trial to save time and give jurors more time to get ready.

But defense attorney Terry Fann disagreed, saying the extended time would give the jurors more time to investigate the case before trial.

“If we gave that jury too much time, we would be asking for problems,” Fann said.

Baugh said the judge could instruct the jury not to investigate the case.

Bragg decided to start jury selection Monday, Feb. 8 with the expectation of the testimony starting the next day in Rutherford County. Bragg said he didn’t have another day to pick a jury. Also, he didn’t want to disrupt the Hamilton County Circuit Court clerk’s office any more than necessary.