CHS_CG
02-21-2006, 09:33 AM
The trial of Jeff Robertson, accused in the April 7 shooting of Gary Joe Kinne Jr., Canton athletic director, will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, February 21, in the court of District Judge Teresa Drum.
District Attorney Leslie Poynter Dixon said the trial will begin with opening statements, followed by testimony.
She said she did not expect Kinne will be among the witnesses to take the stand on Tuesday.
A jury of six men and six women was selected on Monday of last week, as were three alternate jurors of two women and one man.
The trial is expected to last about a week.
Robert Perkins, attorney for Robertson, said he has been given a lengthy list of potential state witnesses, but does not know exactly who on that list will actually be called to testify.
He said he will cross examine the state’s witnesses and then decide who will be called to testify on behalf of the defense.
Robertson is accused of entering the field house at the Canton High School football stadium and shooting Kinne on the morning of last April 7.
Perkins said he expects the state will call a student as a witness who reportedly saw Robertson speeding away from the field house after the shooting that morning.
Robertson, who apparently had attempted suicide because one of his wrists had been slashed, was captured on a golf course just inside Smith County that afternoon.
While Robertson was at large, all schools in the county were placed under lockdown.
Kinne had been taken by helicopter to Trinity Mother Frances Hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound. He reportedly lost about 80 percent of his liver, but recovered enough to be on the sidelines for most football games during a winning season.
Although Robertson himself has never offered a motive for the shooting, some have surmised he was upset with the coach because of dealings with Robertson’s son at the high school and on the football field.
Robertson is presently being held in the Upshur County Jail in Gilmer due to overcrowded conditions in the Van Zandt County Jail.
His bonds have been set at $1 million on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a public servant and $100,000 on a charge of carrying a weapon in a prohibited place.
The shooting of Kinne last April received nationwide publicity. Kinne later received National Coach of the Year honors and accepted a job as linebacker coach for the Baylor Bears.
© Copyright 2005 by Van Zandt Newspapers, LLC
District Attorney Leslie Poynter Dixon said the trial will begin with opening statements, followed by testimony.
She said she did not expect Kinne will be among the witnesses to take the stand on Tuesday.
A jury of six men and six women was selected on Monday of last week, as were three alternate jurors of two women and one man.
The trial is expected to last about a week.
Robert Perkins, attorney for Robertson, said he has been given a lengthy list of potential state witnesses, but does not know exactly who on that list will actually be called to testify.
He said he will cross examine the state’s witnesses and then decide who will be called to testify on behalf of the defense.
Robertson is accused of entering the field house at the Canton High School football stadium and shooting Kinne on the morning of last April 7.
Perkins said he expects the state will call a student as a witness who reportedly saw Robertson speeding away from the field house after the shooting that morning.
Robertson, who apparently had attempted suicide because one of his wrists had been slashed, was captured on a golf course just inside Smith County that afternoon.
While Robertson was at large, all schools in the county were placed under lockdown.
Kinne had been taken by helicopter to Trinity Mother Frances Hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound. He reportedly lost about 80 percent of his liver, but recovered enough to be on the sidelines for most football games during a winning season.
Although Robertson himself has never offered a motive for the shooting, some have surmised he was upset with the coach because of dealings with Robertson’s son at the high school and on the football field.
Robertson is presently being held in the Upshur County Jail in Gilmer due to overcrowded conditions in the Van Zandt County Jail.
His bonds have been set at $1 million on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a public servant and $100,000 on a charge of carrying a weapon in a prohibited place.
The shooting of Kinne last April received nationwide publicity. Kinne later received National Coach of the Year honors and accepted a job as linebacker coach for the Baylor Bears.
© Copyright 2005 by Van Zandt Newspapers, LLC