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Jury chosen in drug overdose case
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Published: September 10, 2009
Seven women and five men will decide the fate of a 20-year-old man charged with providing the prescription drugs that prosecutors contend led to the overdose death of a 15-year-old.
Joshua Parlee is charged with second-degree murder, possession with intent to sell/deliver drugs and sale/delivery of a controlled substance to a minor.
Micael Lane, 15, died in January 2008 after taking oxymorphone, a powerful painkiller.
A second 15-year-old boy also overdosed on the drug but survived.
Troutman Police Department investigators said the two 15-year-olds smoked marijuana and took the oxymorphone, which they contend was provided by Parlee.
Parlee, who is free on bond, was arrested in May 2008. He was a student at South Iredell High School at the time of his arrest.
Jury selection in Parlee's trial began Wednesday in Iredell County Superior Court.
Judge Joe Crosswhite told the prospective jurors that the case is expected to last into the middle of next week.
Assistant District Attorney Mikko Red Arrow told Crosswhite that Parlee was offered two plea deals but declined both.
Parlee sat beside his lawyer, Ed Booker, as Booker and Red Arrow questioned potential jurors.
At one point, Red Arrow told the jurors a quick synopsis of the case.
"One 15-year-old boy overdosed and almost died and another 15-year-old boy overdosed and died," Red Arrow told the jury pool.
As the prosecutor told the potential jurors those basic facts, Parlee lowered his head.
Red Arrow and Booker questioned prospective jurors about their knowledge of the case, whether they knew any of the more than two dozen potential witnesses and whether they had any bias about the use of drugs.
As the two attorneys questioned jurors, Lane's father, Thomas, sat in the audience and took notes.
Red Arrow dismissed four potential jurors and Booker dismissed two. By 3 p.m., 12 jurors and two alternates were chosen.
Opening statements and testimony are expected to begin at 9:30 a.m. today.
Parlee faces at least 18 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
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