BARRE — Jury selection has begun in a first-degree murder trial for the fatal shooting of former Vermont Frost Heaves basketball player Markus Austin outside his Montpelier home in the winter of 2017.
Jayveon Caballero, 31, is facing a possible life sentence for the crime. He has been held without bail at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield after pleading not guilty to the murder charge in May 2017.
On Wednesday, dozens of potential jurors gathered in Barre, as lawyers on both sides worked to narrow the list down to a final selection. That process is expected to end Thursday morning, with opening arguments set for that afternoon.
Most of the potential jurors were from Montpelier, and many had lived or worked near Barre Street, where the alleged murder took place. Almost everyone said they had heard or read about the case, several noting that it was hard not to, given that it was the city’s first murder in a century.
Austin had worked as a mental health specialist at the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital for two years leading up to the shooting. He was the first player signed by the semi-pro Vermont Frost Heaves, which ceased operations in 2011.
The shooting happened early in the morning on Jan. 22, a Sunday, in a parking lot at 191 Barre St., where Austin, 33 at the time, lived with his girlfriend and young child.
Investigators reported that the night of the shooting, Caballero had texted Austin, inviting him to a bar in Barre called Gusto’s, court documents show. Later that night, the pair got into a fight at the bar. Austin reportedly punched Caballero’s girlfriend, Desiree Carey, fracturing her jaw.
Caballero accompanied Carey to the hospital for treatment. Witnesses reported that there, he appeared agitated. Austin, meanwhile, reportedly went to a friend’s house for several hours before returning home.
Around 4:30 a.m., witnesses reported hearing shouting, and ultimately, a gunshot.
Police alleged that soon afterwards, Caballero fled the state by bus. Four months later, he was found in Deltona, Florida, and extradited back to Vermont.
Originally, Caballero faced a second-degree murder charge, but after further evidence was gathered, that was upped to first-degree murder. He has been held without bail since the extradition.
About a month ago, the state introduced “thousands of pages of documents and dozens of hours of electronic recordings” into the case file. Caballero’s attorney, Daniel Sedon, argued the new evidence was introduced too late to properly prepare for the trial, and asked the court to either delay the trial or exclude the documents and recordings.
The court ruled partially in the defense’s favor. Judge Mary Morrissey ruled that the transcripts of witness interviews and other documents would be allowed, while the jail call recordings would not. After that decision, the defense agreed to move forward with the trial.
Also in October, the state moved to introduce previous instances of Caballero’s “falsity and dishonesty” as evidence to impeach his credibility, citing two previous examples where he had been investigated for crimes and initially denied involvement before later pleading guilty.
The court, however, ruled that the danger of unfair prejudice in this instance was too high, especially since the crimes in question happened a decade or more prior.
“Emphasis on defendant’s historical police contacts is likely to substantially prejudice the jury, a danger that far outweighs any arguable probative value to the proffered evidence,” Morrissey wrote in her decision.
Morrissey oversaw the selection process Wednesday, and will be presiding over the remainder of the trial, which is expected to last about two weeks.
A tentative end date has been set for Nov. 19.