A Superior Court judge turned down a request Wednesday to move former police officer Randall Kerrick’s trial from Mecklenburg County.
This is the second time defense attorneys have tried to have Kerrick’s trial moved to a neighboring county. Their motion for a gag order was also denied.
Kerrick faces a voluntary manslaughter charge in the 2013 shooting death of 24-year-old Jonathan Ferrell. He shot Ferrell, an unarmed African-American, ten times after responding to a 911 call. According to Ferrell’s attorneys, after wrecking his car, Ferrell knocked on the door of a nearby home, seeking assistance, and the residence’s occupant called police. In May, city officials approved a $2.5 million payment to Ferrell’s family to settle a lawsuit. Kerrick’s attorneys’ have argued that the settlement and publicity the case has received hurt Kerrick’s chances of a fair trial in Charlotte. The trial starts with jury selection July 20.
