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Three jurors seated in local murder trial

By Carey Phillips
Jury selection began Monday in the first-degree murder trial of Reginal Lewis Butler.

The 24-year-old Toccoa, Ga., man is charged in connection with the March 17, 1999, death of Terry Ray Chastain, 43, of the Yellow Mountain community near Cashiers. The state is seeking the death penalty.

The incident occurred at the Yellow Mountain home of Don Wayne Potts.

"The homicide was orchestrated by some of the more powerful drug dealers in the Cashiers and Highlands area," Sheriff Jim Cruzan said at the time of Butler's arrest.

At the close of court Tuesday, prosecutors and defense attorneys had agreed on three jurors. The state had also passed on seven more jurors with the defense still questioning that group. Selection will continue until 12 jurors and two alternates are chosen.

Superior Court Judge Marlene Hyatt is presiding over the case at the Jackson County Justice Center.

A co-defendant, Timothy Wiley, 25, of Atlanta, is scheduled for trial later this year.

Lisa Tucci-Caselli, 32, and Timothy Dean Giles, 28, both of Cashiers were also charged with first-degree murder. No probable cause was found against Giles. Tucci-Caselli is being held in federal prison in Florida on unrelated charges. She has had no trial date scheduled.

Back to Archive: 04/20/00.