When the jury summons arrived in the mail, Dave would see it as an opportunity to go to the Ventura County Hall of Justice, sit somewhere on the courthouse grounds and read a good book.

Then, Dave, who asked that his real name not be used, was selected to serve on a murder trial involving three defendants, Brian Starks, Corey Lamar Johnson, and Terrance "Terry" Morrow.

The three were accused of killing 49-year-old Michael Wade, of Northern California and wounding Kenneth Pecaro, a San Bernardino parolee, during a drug deal gone bad on Nov. 9, 2009.

This trial's cast of seedy characters included parolees, former and current prison inmates, big-time drug dealers and small time pushers. And attorneys who called the other side's witnesses liars.

One side was armed with a rifle and two guns; the other side had no weapons, according to the prosecution. The shooting took place 75 yards from an elementary school. Wade died in an alley in the 1400 block of South E Street in Oxnard. Starks shot him twice in the back with hollow-point bullets, ammunition that is designed to cause a lot of damage to the human body.

The trial started on April 9.

During opening statements, the prosecutor told jurors that the defendants were going to rob Wade and Pecaro. Defense lawyers said it was simply a drug deal gone bad, and there was no money. Therefore, it couldn't have been a robbery.

The first week of May, jurors began deliberations after all the testimony and evidence -- including DNA and a video of a convenience store parking lot where Starks met with the victims on the day of the shooting -- ended.

It got more serious for Dave.

Fellow jurors picked him as jury foreman whose job it was to keep the deliberations going, help sort through all the pieces of evidence including crime scene photographs and allow the smooth and steady recollection of testimony by jurors.

There were countless hours and thousands of words said on the witness stand.

But first, Dave said jurors had to wade through 80-pages of jury instructions that had been read by Judge Charles Campbell. That was done before the prosecutor and defense attorneys could present hours of closing arguments.

He recalled going into the jury room, jurors finally selecting him as the foreman, and then having to wait to get copies of the jury instructions.

"They were still working on them," he said.

 Dave, however, said this short waiting time was well spent by jurors sorting out some of the evidence.

Dave said he was very impressed Judge Campbell, saying that he was fair to both sides.

"I was very impressed by him and the bailiffs," he said. "It was a good courtroom experience."

Dave said the most compelling evidence was not one thing but was how the prosecutor Maeve Fox and the investigators linked all the evidence together.

What sticks out in his mind was the 20-minute audio recording of Wade who had been fatally wounded and was played at the start of the trial. In the background of the recording, a dog barked almost incessantly and a police officer asked the dying Wade questions and gave commands and encouraged him to keep breathing.

"That was kind of eerie because we already knew that he had died and to hear him suffering," said Dave.

The Oxnard police officer who arrived at the crime scene and is heard asking the mortally wounded Wade questions, left an impression on Dave. The officer was "calm and focus" while trying to keep Wade alive amid the chaos, Dave said.

The autopsy photographs that often tend to linger in the minds of people who serve on juries involving homicides didn't have much of an impact on Dave. He said the autopsy photographs weren't graphic.

On May 4 and after four days of deliberating, jurors said they had verdicts on some of the felony counts and were deadlocked on others.

Starks was the only defendant found guilty of murder with great bodily injury.  Starks also had a gun during the murder and was a felon in possession of a gun, jurors said.

The jurors were deadlocked on the conspiracy charge against Johnson and Morrow, and therefore, they couldn't convict the defendants of murder during the commission of a robbery.

Morrow was found guilty of assault with a firearm because he wounded Pecaro in the hand; Jurors deadlocked on the murder and other felony charges against Johnson.  

Dave said he no longer sees a jury summons the same way,a ticket to go sit on courthouse grounds and read a good book.

"I think a lot of people don't want to do jury duty," he said. "Now that I have been involved I have a great appreciation for the process. I have no hesitation in doing it again.

And yeah, Dave emphasized that this was a very serious case. But that's what jurors promised to do when they raised their hands to sit in a case where another human being lost his life, he said.

"We took it seriously, very seriously. We swore that we would do that, and so we had a job to do," Dave said.

Jurors today found one defendant guilty of murder and a co-defendant guilty of assault with a firearm.

The jury, however, deadlocked on all the felony charges involving a third defendant, Corey Lamar Johnson.

The trio -- Brian Bilal Starks, 38, Terrance "Terry" Morrow, 31, and Johnson,34, -- were involved in a drug deal that left Michael Wade dead and Kenneth Pecaro wounded on Nov. 9, 2009.

According to court testimony,  Wade and his friend Darrell Babagay wanted to buy a large quantity of cocaine for more than $55,000, and Pecaro was going to set up the deal with Starks, who knew Pecaro from prison. Starks, in turn, recruited Morrow and Johnson.

Prosecutor Maeve Fox claimed that Starks, of Camarillo, lured Wade and Pecaro to an Oxnard residence on South E. Street in Oxnard to rob them; Defense lawyers countered that Wade and Pecaro had no money and so, there is no robbery.

Jurors found Starks guilty of first-degree murder with great bodily injury; assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Morrow, of Oxnard, who was also on trial for murder and other felony charges, was found guilty only of assault with a firearm for shooting and wounding Pecaro during a struggle for a gun.,

Jurors deadlocked on the murder and other felony charges against Johnson who was accused of being an aider and abettor during the murder.

The jury foreman told Judge Charles Campbell that the votes were pretty much split 6 to 6 on the remaining charges including conspiracy and robbery.

Johnson's lawyer Willard Wiksell said the jury did a really good job, asking a number of questions during their deliberations.

"They did a very hard job. I cannot fault the jury in anyway," he said. "Mr. Johnson, he got justice."

Wiksell temporarily substituted for Morrow's lawyer Charles Cassy who was unavailable for comment. Stark's lawyer Gay Zide with the Public Defender's Office declined to comment as she left the courtroom.

Jurors couldn't decide the whether the trio was trying to rob Wade, Pecaro and Wade's friend Darrell Babagay. He didn't go to the residence where the drug deal was to take place.

"Our position was that there was not a robbery and the jury did not find that there was a robbery," said Wiksell. "That wasn't resolved, and I don't think it will ever be resolved."

Adding that Johnson was at the South E. Street residence because he was asked to provide a place for a cocaine deal.

Wiksell said his client's role in this incident was "so minor" that it was difficult for anyone to say he committed a crime.

Before the jurors came into the courtroom with their verdicts, Johnson pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and admitted to having two felony strikes against him. He will be sentenced to seven years in prison on that charge.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell set the sentencing for the three defendants on June 5.

The prosecutor is expected to decide whether the District Attorney's Office will retry the felony charges against Johnson and Morrow that jurors deadlocked on.

The jury reached verdicts Thursday afternoon in the murder trial of three defendants -- Brian Starks, Terrance "Terry" Morrow and Corey Lamar Johnson.

The jurors' decisions will be read on Friday morning.

The trial resumes at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 35.

The three are accused of murder during the commission of a robbery along with conspiracy and other criminal charges in connection with the fatal shooting of drug dealer Michael Wade and the wounding of Kenneth Pecaro in 2009

Closing arguments in the trial of three defendants -- Brian Starks, Terrance "Terry" Morrow and Corey Lamar Johnson -- are underway in Courtroom 35.

The trial got off to a late start this morning. udge Charles Campbell had to read papers of instructions to the jury before arguments could begin. He finished reading them at about 11 a.m..

The court took an early lunch and jurors were ordered back at 1:30 p.m.

Opening statements from lawyers are expected to take several hours.

he three are accused of murder during the commission of a robbery along with conspiracy and other criminal charges in connection with the fatal shooting of drug dealer Michael Wade and the wounding of Kenneth Pecaro in 2009

Closing arguments in the trial of three defendants -- Brian Starks, Terrance "Terry" Morrow and Corey Lamar Johnson -- are expected to begin Thursday morning in Courtroom 35.

The three are accused of murder during the commission of a robbery along with conspiracy and other criminal charges in connection with the fatal shooting of drug dealer Michael Wade and the wounding of Kenneth Pecaro in 2009

Cory Lamar Johnson denied ever robbing anyone and said he only agreed to get a house on South E Street in Oxnard so an exchange of drugs and money could take place.

He denied that he was involved in a ripoff of other drug dealers with murder co-defendants, Brian Starks and Terrance "Terry" Morrow.

"I never robbed in my entire life. I would never associate with people that do that," said Johnson.

Johnson, Starks and Morrow are on trial for the murder of Michael Wade during the commission of a robbery and conspiracy. Wade and his friend Darrell Babagay wanted to buy a large quantity of cocaine, and Kenneth Pecaro was going to set up the deal with Starks, who knew Pecaro from prison.

Johnson who was on parole said he was told that Starks was going to sell a kilo or 2.2 pounds of cocaine. Testimony showed that Wade and Babagay wanted to buy 3 kilos or six pounds for $55,500. Johnson described himself as a small-time drug dealer who wanted to watch Starks sell a large amount of cocaine

"I'm just a curious person," Johnson said.

Johnson said he was told by Starks that the drug buyers might have weapons. Johnson said Morrow told him that he had a gun. Johnson said he went "around the corner" and paid his mechanic $60 for a rifle that the mechanic's son was selling.

He said his job was to sit on a table outside the house and act like a "Centennial" with the rifle. When asked by his lawyer Willard Wiskell, Johnson used a yardstick while inside the witness stand to show jurors how he was holding the weapon as he sat on the table on Nov. 9, 2009.

Johnson said he felt uncomfortable sitting on the table and remembered thinking that he was in full view of people who might go by the alley.

"I was just sitting there thinking what if police drive-by. It doesn't seem too intelligent," Johnson testified.

Johnson said he got up, walked over into the courtyard and went inside the house. He said he heard gunshots, went to see what was going on and saw Morrow and Pecaro struggling for a gun. Pecaro was shot in the hand, ran and was later detained by police nearly four blocks away.

Michael Wade was shot twice in the back by Stark as he ran away from the house, according to court testimony. Starks is claiming self-defense. 

Johnson said he never armed himself when he did his own drug deals until he agreed to act as a guard for Starks.

He said he doesn't want to spend a single day in jail, takes his freedom "very seriously" and doesn't commit crimes.

"If I do commit a crime, I try to keep it as minimal as possible," Johnson told jurors.

Corey Lamar Johnson who was allegedly standing guard with a rifle during a drug deal that resulted in one man getting killed and another wounded is on the stand.

Johnson, a parolee, began his testimony at 11:30 a.m. and resumes at 1:30 p.m. after the lunch break. Johnson is on trial for murder.

Prosecutors say the alleged triggerman who killed Michael Wade was co-defendant Brian Starks. Johnson and Terrance "Terry" Deshun  Morrow were also charged with Wade's murder.

Johnson and Morrow are accused of aiding and abetting during the commission of a robbery that resulted in the fatal shooting of Wade and the wounding of Kenneth Pecaro on Nov. 9, 2009.

Prosecutors contend that the three defendants went to meet with drug dealers Wade and his friend and gambling buddy Darrell Babagay to rob them. Wade and Babagay wanted to buy 6.6 pounds of cocaine for $55,500 and Pecaro who knew Starks from prison was setting up the drug deal with Starks.

Johnson who has short wavy black hair and a mustache testified that he had a sixth grade education, likes to write both fiction and nonfiction and is a tattoo artist.

"That's my majority of support," he said.

He described his relationship with Starks who he knows as Bilal or "Black" as not being close and that the last drug deal that they did together was in 2003.  Johnson said his dealings with Starks were more about business, and he never socialized with him.

However, Johnson said he was close to Morrow and his family and hung around with Morrow to get away from bad people.

"I've got a bad habit of hanging with people I shouldn't be handing around," Johnson said.

Johnson told jurors that he was convicted in 1996 for having a firearm and in 2004 for selling drugs. He said he dealt in small quantities of cocaine and was the middleman between the drug user and the dealer.

Starks finished testifying late this morning.

Brian Starks testified that he was doing a former prison dormitory mate a favor by setting up a large cocaine deal with Starks' friend who is an Oxnard drug dealer named "Chava" who also owns a mechanic shop.

Starks said Chava gave him the gun when he went to do the drug deal with Michael Wade and Darrell Babagay who were going to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the cocaine.

Prosecutor Maeve Fox told jurors that Starks, Terrance Deshun Morrow and Corey Larmar Johnson tried to rob Wade,  Babagay and Kenneth Pecaro who traveled to Oxnard to buy 6.6 pounds of cocaine for $55,500. She said Starks is a small-time drug dealer who didn't have that amount of cocaine.

Starks is accused of striking Wade in the top of his head with the gun butt and fatally shooting the Northern California resident in the back twice with .40 caliber hollow-point bullets on Nov. 9, 2009. Pecaro was wounded in the hand during a struggle with Morrow.

Starks, Morrow and Johnson are on trial for murder during a robbery and conspiracy.

Pecaro, who knew Starks in prison, hooked him up with Wade and Babagy.  Starks recruited Morrow and Johnson who were armed with a gun and rifle, according to court testimony

Starks said Morrow found a residence in the 1400 block of South E. Street where a drug user named Keith Allen lived. Starks said Morrow who was armed didn't know the details of the drug transaction.

"I don't know if Terry Morrow is a drug dealer," Starks testified. "I know he does music."

"You trust him enough to find you a place and you've got three kilos of cocaine and you don't tell him anything?" prosecutor Maeve Fox asked Starks, a former Channel Islands High School graduate.

Starks said Pecaro and Wade were only going to check out the cocaine. The  part of the deal where money exchanges hands was going to be done later, Starks testified. He denied telling Morrow that he shot Wade in the buttocks.

Fox asked what were Morrow and Johnson supposed to do during the drug deal.

"Look tough," Starks replied.

Starks denied striking Wade on top of the head with the butt of his gun. He also denied that the plan was to walk Wade and Pecaro into the South E. Street resident. There an armed Morrow was waiting and Starks would be behind Pecaro and Wade to trap them. Later,  Babagay would be called to bring the cash to buy the drugs.

"You didn't think anybody in that house would call the cops?" Fox asked.

"Somebody did call the cops," Starks replied.

Fox relentlessly questioned Starks about he phone calls he made shortly before and after the shooting of Wade along with asking him about his ties to Oxnard drug dealers, which Starks named.

During hours of testimony, Starks sometimes mocked Fox who would ask questions that were often laced with sarcasm in an attempt to make Starks' answers to jurors sound unbelievable, at times silly.

"Mr. Morrow brought a gun and (puts) it in his backpack. That fact is unknown to you?" Fox said.

"Yes," Starks replied.  

Brian Starks is on the stand and is being grilled by prosecutor Maeve Fox who is questioning about the names, descriptions and addresses of the drug dealers that Starks has done business with in the past.

Fox told Starks that Erik Ek, an employee from her office, was in the courtroom taking notes so they can check out Starks' story.

Starks, who occasionally bickered Fox and sometimes grinned, appeared calm. He said he didn't know a lot of the dealers last names because drug dealers don't check each others IDs.

The questions from Fox began shortly after 11 a.m. and resume at 1:30 p.m.

Fox told jurors that Starks, Terrance Deshun Morrow and Corey Larmar Johnson tried to rob Wade, Kenneth Pecaro and Darrell Babagay who traveled to Oxnard to buy 6.6 pounds of cocaine for $55,500. She said Starks is a small-time drug dealer who didn't have that amount of cocaine.

Earlier, Starks answered questions from his lawyer Gay Zide.

He testified that the victim Michael Wade who had a razor knife threatened to kill him while they were about to do a drug deal.  He said Kenneth Pecaro, who he knew in prison and put together the drug deal for Wade and his friend Darrell Babagay, ran into the house in Oxnard where the deal was going to be done.

Pecaro maintains that Morrow put a gun to his head has he walked into the house. Pecaro grabbed the weapon and a struggle ensued.

Starks said Wade and him ran toward the fence of the residence in the 1400 block of South. E Street in Oxnard. Starks said he fell and Wade reached for something in his pocket and threatened Starks.

'I'll kill you. I'll kill you. He started going crazy. He was waving the razor," Starks testified.

Then Starks said Wade began spinning and "doing the tornado." Starks said Wade was seven to ten inches near Starks' feet, he testified.

Starks said he took out his gun and fired. Wade was shot twice in the back, according to court testimony.

"I shot in front of me. I was just thinking don't shoot your feet off," Starks testified.

Fox went through text messages from several women who Starks had knew. She read a few excerpts from some of the text messages Starks received that included curse words and one telling him that she loved him but was "done" with him.

"Do you consider yourself a player?" Fox asked.

"No, not at all," he replied.

"Women love you because you're very charming, and you have a lot of success with woman, correct?"

"Objection," Gay said.

"Sustained," Judge Charles Campbell responded.

The man accused of fatally shooting another drug dealer in the back and is claiming self-defense testified this afternoon.

Brian Bilal Starks who is charged with two others with the murder of Michael Wade, a Northern California resident, told about how he began selling small quantities of drugs before making big drug deals worth thousands of dollars.

He boasted about knowing different drug dealers and having as many as 60 customers who paid higher prices in Santa Barbara than Oxnard.

"You got a reputation of having high quality (drugs)," asked Stark's lawyer Zide Gay.

"Yeah," Starks replied.

Starks who is a tall, black man with a bald head resumes his testimony Friday morning.

Prosecutor Maeve Fox told jurors that Starks, Terrance Deshun Morrow and Corey Larmar Johnson tried to rob Wade, Kenneth Pecaro and Darrell Babagay who traveled to Oxnard to buy 6.6 pounds of cocaine for $55,500.

Fox said Starks who recruited Morrow and Johnson to pull off the robbery is a small-time drug dealer who never had that large amount of cocaine to sell to Wade and Babagay who were big-time narcotics dealers and gambling buddies.

Pecaro who shared a prison dormitory with Starks put him in contact with Wade and Babagay, court testimony indicated. Babagay had a "bad vibe" about doing business with Starks and didn't go with Wade or Pecaro to the South E Street address, staying behind at convenience store parking lot several minutes away, court testimony showed.

Pecaro was shot in the hand as a result of a struggle with Morrow for a gun.

Starks who was convicted for selling drugs in Santa Barbara in 2005 testified how he made a lot of money traveling almost daily from Camarillo to Santa Barbara to sell mostly powder cocaine, according to court testimony

Zide told jurors that Starks had a large quantity of cocaine to sell when he took Wade and Pecaro to negotiate the drug deal at an alley in the 1400 block of South E. Street in Oxnard.

Defense attorneys representing three men accused  murdering a Northern California man in a failed drug-related robbery will begin putting on evidence and testimony on Thursday morning.

The trial resume at 9;30 a.m. on Thursday at Courtroom 35.

Brian Bilal Starks who is accused of pulling the trigger that killed Michael Wade is expected to take the stand.

In an interview, Johnson's lawyer Willard Wiksell said he'll put his client, defendant Cory Johnson, on the stand on Monday.

It is unclear whether Morrow will testify.

The prosecution finished putting on witnesses on Wednesday afternoon.

Starks lawyer Gay Zide who works at the Public Defender's Office said her client acted in self-defense after Wade pulled out a razor knife.

The prosecution finished putting on witnesses on Wednesday afternoon.

Prosecutors allege that Starks, 37; Terrance Deshun Morrow, 31; and Johnson, 34, had a rifle and two handguns and were there to rip off drug money from Wade, Pecaro and Darrell Babagay.

Prosecutor Maeve Fox maintains that the three defendants didn't have and never intended to sell  6.6 pounds of cocaine for $55,500 to the victim and Babagay, who testimony showed were high-level drug dealers.

Starks allegedly recruited Morrow and Johnson to help him rob Wade, Pecaro and Babagay, said the prosecutor.

Defense lawyers say the trio had the cocaine and were there to do a drug deal. Lawyers said this wasn't robbery because Pecaro and Wade had no money.

"Cody" the police K-9 caused quite a stir when the animal showed up to court with his handler who was testifying in the trial of three men accused of murdering a Northern California man.

During a jury recess break and long after Cody's handler took the stand, defense attorney Willard Wiksell told the judge that bringing a police dog into the courtroom was inappropriate. Wiksell said the animal's presence "inadvertently bolstered the credibility" of Cody's handler's testimony.

"We should be alerted to that when that cute dog walked into the courtroom," Wiksell told the judge, noting that the handler snapped his fingers and the dog sat down.

The two other defense lawyers Charles Cassy and Gay Zide agreed, saying that they should have been alerted by prosecutor Maeve Fox before the dog came into the courtroom so they could make their objections to the judge.

Veteran criminal defense lawyer Cassy said the dog's presence in the courtroom was disruptive. He said he's never had a case where a dog walked into the courtroom in the middle of a trial.

Fox said she was aware that the dog was going to be with its police handler in the courtroom and made no apologies for Cody's courtroom appearance.

Adding that she would not describe Cody as being "cute" but that the animal was impressive and big, full of energy and well trained.  Fox said jurors should have been allowed see the animal.

The judge agreed.

The dog's sniffer was used to find firearms immediately after Michael Wade was mortally wounded and collapsed at an alley in the 1400 block of E Street in  Oxnard.

Three men -- Brian Bilal Starks, 37; Terrance Deshun Morrow, 31; and Corey Lamar Johnson, 34 - are on trial for Wade's murder on Nov. 9, 2009.

The trial of three men charged in murdering a Northern California man resumes in Courtroom 35 on Friday at 9 a.m.

A key prosecution witness Kenneth Pecaro who was with the victim Michael Wade was on the stand on Wednesday and finished his testimony on Thursday.

Prosecutors say defendants, Brian Bilal Starks, 37; Terrance Deshun Morrow, 31; and Corey Lamar Johnson, 34, had a rifle and two handguns and were there to rip off drug money from Wade, Pecaro and Darrell Babagay.

Defense lawyers say the trio had the cocaine and were there to do a drug deal. Attorney Gay Zide who represents Starks said her client shot Wade in self-defense,  Zide claims that Wade had a razor knife. Morrow shot Pecaro in the hand. Lawyers said this wasn't robbery because Pecaro and Wade had no money.

Pecaro testified that he was walking toward a residence on the 1400 block of South E Street in Oxnard in the afternoon on Nov. 9, 2009. He said he was walking in front of Starks and Wade was behind Starks. Pecaro said as he was about to go inside the residence when he saw Morrow pointing a gun to his head. He grabbed Morrow's hand.

Pecaro said a struggle ensued and he was shot. Pecaro admitted lying to police many times about what happened and said he was going to get $3,000 for his role in the cocaine deal.

Starks is accused of hitting Wade in the head with the gun and shooting him in the back twice as he ran.

Prosecutor Maeve Fox said Wade ran out of his shoe as he bolted  and then stumbled before he collapsed with two mortal wounds on his back.

Court testimony indicates that Wade and his friend and gambling buddy Babagay were in Oxnard to buy cocaine. The two were going to pay $18,500 for 2.2 pounds of cocaine and wanted to buy 6.6 pounds. Pecaro contacted Starks who was his prison cellmate to buy the cocaine, and Starks, in turn, recruited Morrow and Johnson.

Starks and Johnson will probably testify.

On Friday morning, Sheriff's Sgt. Carlos Macias who worked as a narcotics officer continues his testimony as an expert. He is testifying about the inner workings of the drug world, including the pricing and packaging of cocaine.

 Attorney Willard Wiksell who is representing murder defendant Corey Lamar Johnson was able to convince the judge that Wiksell's investigator should seat very near the defense table.

Wiksell had argued before the trial started and while jurors waited outside the courtroom that his investigator should sit behind him.

Judge Charles Campbell looked over and told Wiksell that "for the record" Wiksell's investigator was six-feet away. The investigator was behind the wooden bar sitting in the front row.

The bailiff said the corner was already too cluttered. In the corner, there were defense files and one of the deputies was sitting close behind Johnson. Also the bailiff said there were no more chairs because they were all being used by jurors.

Wiksell had offered to get a folding chair for his investigator.

Johnson along Brian Bilal Starks and Terrance Deshun Morrow are on trial for murdering Michael Wade, of Northern California. Wade and his close friend and gambling buddy Darrell Babagay were trying to buy three kilos or 6.6 pounds of cocaine for $18,500 a kilo.

During closing arguments, Wiksell told jurors that his investigator who had to go through volumes of telephone records with him will prove that the murder case against Johnson is weak.

"It's almost nonexistent," Wiksell said.

Wiksell said Johnson went on the dope deal only to "supply" the place where the cocaine would be exchanged. Johnson who Wiksell described as a small-time drug dealer looked at this cocaine sale as big time opportunity to get in on a big buy. So, he also took a rifle with him to do something extra to impress Starks who recruited him. Johnson was hoping that this big drug deal would result in him getting a big reward from Starks.

"It's just like the valet parker. He gets a tip." Wiksell told jurors. "If he washes your car, he gets a bigger tip."

The murder trial in Courtroom 35 could boil down to who has the most credible witnesses. Prosecutor Maeve Fox is going to have a difficult time convincing jurors that one of the prosecution's key witnesses, a San Bernadino parolee Kenneth Pecaro, can be believed.

Pecaro was the one who set up the drug deal with his former prison roommate, Starks who, prosecutors say, shot Wade. Pecaro told police different versions about what happened.  Fox described Pecaro as a "cry baby" and drug user who was wounded in the hand by Morrow, ran, was detained by police nearly four blocks away and broke down and cried.

"He's a piece of work and you will meet him," she told jurors.

Fox maintains that the defendants had no cocaine and were there to rob Wade, Pecaro and Babagay. Babagay decided at the last minute that he wasn't going to go on this drug deal because he had a "bad vibe." He was left by Wade and Pecaro at the parking lot of a convenience store about two minutes from the crime scene. Wade and Pecaro drove off to do the drug deal.

Starks has a conviction for drug dealing in Santa Barbara. A crack cocaine user lived in the residence in Oxnard that was being used by Starks and the two other defendants to allegedly lure and try to rob Wade, according to Fox.  

The trial of three men accused of killing a Northern California man is underway in Courtroom 35 with prosecutor Maeve Fox beginning opening statements shortly before 10 a.m. today.

Brian Bilal Starks, 37; Terrance Deshun Morrow, 31; and Corey Lamar Johnson, 34, are charged with the murder of Michael Wade who wanted to purchase more than six pounds of cocaine for about $18,500 for 2.2 pounds from the defendants in Oxnard in 2009.

The defendants didn't have any money to buy the cocaine and were going to rob Wade and his friend Kenneth Pecaro, said Fox. Wade and Pecaro didn't have money with them and were there to check out the cocaine, according to prosecutors.

Outside the presence of the jury and before the trial began, Johnson's lawyer Willard Wiksell told the judge that he wanted his investigator to sit near him at the defense table so he could consult with him during the trial. But the bailiff told Wiksell that the investigator would have to sit in the front row.

"I've never had him sit in the front row because he is too valuable to me," Wiksell told the judge. "He doesn't need to be mother-henned by a security officer."

Judge Charles Campbell told Wiksell that "for the record" he looks like he was about six feet behind him in the front row.

Wiksell said his investigator who is licensed and a retired Ventura police officer is helping him with the volumes of police reports this case has cranked out and the investigator's consulting goes along with reviewing these files He said this sometimes ocurrs when a witness is on the stand.

"It's that important to me," said Wiksell.

The bailiff said the corner was too cluttered and there were no more chairs because they had all been taken up by jurors.

"For want of a chair?" Wiksell countered. "We could bring a folding chair."

The judge said he'd decided whether the investigator could sit closer to the defense table before witnesses begin testifying.

The court recessed for lunch at about 11:30 a.m. after Fox made her opening statements.

Defense lawyers begin their opening statements at 1:30 p.m. when the court reconvenes.