By Taylor MacPherson

Murder trial begins for pair accused of killing 17-year-old

Jan 23, 2017 | 4:00 PM

Jury selection began this afternoon in the murder trial of a pair charged with the shooting death of a 17-year-old boy.

The case dates back to an incident in April of 2014. Paramedics were called to a Prince Albert home and discovered the youth, who was later identified as Clayton James Bear, suffering gunshot wounds. Bear was taken to Victoria Hospital for treatment, but succumbed to his injuries.

Jordan Christopher Herron, of Prince Albert, was arrested and charged in May of 2014. Orren Johnson, also of Prince Albert, was also arrested and charged in connection with the death later in the same month.

Both Herron and Johnson face charges of first degree murder. A conviction of the charge carries a minimum sentence of life in prison.

The pair was calm and quiet during the selection process this afternoon. Both wore all black and spoke only to enter their not-guilty pleas and confirm they understood the charges. Johnson sat shackled in the prisoner’s box while Herron sat next to his lawyer.

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The trial is expected to be lengthy. With four weeks set aside for the proceedings at Prince Albert’s Court of Queen’s Bench and more than 30 names on the list of potential witnesses, the case is not expected to conclude until mid-February.

Because of the expected length of the trial, 14 jurors were selected instead of the normal 12 to allow for unexpected issues. The 12 who will decide the verdict will be selected by lottery before the jury retires.

Arguments and testimony are expected to begin Thursday.

Taylor MacPherson is paNOW’s court reporter and weekend editor. He can be reached at Taylor.MacPherson@jpbg.ca or tweet him @tmacphersonnews.