Homicide trial set to start today

One of his co-defendants has pleaded guilty, another has been found not guilty and now Damon L. Ennett will go on trial for allegedly participating in the killing of a Shenandoah man in March 2010.

Jury selection is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. today for Ennett, 31, of Freeland, whom prosecutors say drove the getaway car for two other men who broke into the house of Bruce L. Forker, 24, on March 16, 2010, and shot him.

Ennett is charged with criminal homicide, conspiracy, robbery, burglary, theft, simple assault, two counts of aggravated assault and four of recklessly endangering another person. He faces a possible life sentence, which in Pennsylvania includes no chance of parole, if convicted of first-degree or second-degree murder.

First Assistant District Attorney Karen Noon and Assistant District Attorney Douglas J. Taglieri will prosecute the case against Ennett, who is being defended by Chief Public Defender Michael J. Stine. Judge Jacqueline L. Russell will preside over the trial.

Noon declined to comment on how long she thought the prosecution would take to present its case.

Deputy Court Administrator Bruce Heffner said about 100 jurors are scheduled to report today for jury selection.

State police at Frackville allege that Ennett, who is being held in prison without bail pending trial, conspired with Julius C. Enoe, 33, and Jahmal Ollivirre, 20, both of Reading, to kill Forker.

Police said Ennett waited in the car while Enoe and Ollivirre broke into the 333 E. Centre St. home Forker shared with his fiancee, Kasa Brennan, and their two children. Once inside, Enoe took Forker upstairs, where he put a gun against the back of his head and shot him, while Ollivirre took Brennan upstairs but did not shoot her, according to police.

Police said the pair fled, taking about $ 5,000 and two of Brennan's cell phones.

Prosecutors tried Enoe, who is Ollivirre's uncle, twice: the first trial ended May 3 in a hung jury, while the second ended Sept. 2 with a different jury finding the defendant not guilty of all charges. Russell presided over both trials.

Ennett testified against Enoe in both trials, while Ollivirre testified against him in only the first one.

Stine declined to say whether Ennett would testify on his own behalf in this trial.

Ollivirre pleaded guilty Nov. 21 to third-degree murder, conspiracy, robbery, burglary, theft and aggravated assault, Russell sentenced him to serve 15 to 30 years in a state correctional institution and made the term consecutive to an eight-year one Ollivirre is serving in New York on unrelated charges.

Sheriff Joseph G. Groody said security would be tight for the trial.

"We have all our deputies working. There will be extra deputies in the courtroom during the trial," Groody said.

Groody said there will be a metal detector at the entrance to the courtroom where the case will be tried, but that security will be tighter long before that.

"There's going to be extra security down (at the public entrance to the Courthouse)," he said.Defendant: Damon L. Ennett

Age: 31

Residence: Freeland

Charges: Criminal homicide, conspiracy, robbery, burglary, theft, simple assault, two counts of aggravated assault and four of recklessly endangering another person


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