Jury selection begins in Caddo Parish crossbow murder trial

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Jury selection is underway in the trial of a Shreveport man accused of killing another man with a crossbow in February 2020 and dumping the body near the south end of Wallace Lake.

Daniel Haire, 26, is on trial for second-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Rodney Nordby, whose body was found wrapped in two blankets near Wallace Lake by two teenagers on Feb. 29, 2020. Haire and Dillon Brown, 29, were arrested the next day at Brown’s Shreveport home.

Brown is charged with accessory after the fact to second-degree murder in Nordby’s death for allegedly helping Haire dispose of the body. No trial date is set in that case.

According to information released by the sheriff’s office, the murder happened on Feb. 27, 2020, inside Haire’s home in the 100 block of Swedes Avenue, just around the corner from Brown’s house.

Detectives said Nordby was visiting Haire when Haire allegedly shot him in the chest with a crossbow during a disagreement. Haire then allegedly enlisted Brown’s help to dispose of Nordby’s body, which was wrapped in comforters and then dumped near the parking lot at Cameron Park in the early-morning hours of Feb. 29.

Eleven jurors were selected Monday afternoon in Haire’s trial from two panels of 14 prospective jurors, who were first welcomed by presiding Judge Chris Victory and asked to introduce themselves.

Assistant Caddo District Attorney Kobie Smith and Haire’s defense attorney Stephen Glassell quizzed prospective jurors individually on their understanding of the charges, as well as their personal opinions about various scenarios that could play out in the trial.

Smith outlined the three types of evidence – direct (eyewitness), circumstantial, and scientific (DNA, etc.) – and used personal antidotes to illustrate their meanings, while Glassell explained Louisiana’s ‘stand your ground’ laws that say if someone feels threatened, he or she has no requirement to retreat.

The first five jurors were selected after around two hours of explanations and questions, while the second round of seven were selected after around an hour and a half of explanations and questioning.

Court will resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday when one additional juror and two alternate jurors will be selected from the remaining pool of prospective jurors.

Jury selection in the trial did not get underway until Monday afternoon, as around 40 trials were scheduled to be held in Victory’s courtroom on the same day.

Each of those trials had to be continued to another date, or, in a handful of cases plea bargains were accepted and guilty pleas entered.

The district attorney’s office, in conjunction with defense attorneys and the presiding judge, schedule jury trials and it is unclear why there is so much “overbooking” done.

Caddo Parish is experiencing a backlog of trials due to pandemic delays that go back two years.