A jury was selected Wednesday and opening arguments are set for Thursday in the retrial of an imprisoned felon charged with first-degree murder in the September 2006 killing of a Metra police officer near the Harvey train station.
Jemetric Nicholson, 28, is accused of shooting to death Officer Thomas Cook, a 43-year-old father of two, as Cook sat in his police car while on a special patrol.
Nicholson’s first trial ended in a hung jury in October after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict after about 25 hours of discussion at the Cook County courthouse in Markham, where the retrial is being held. Circuit Court Judge Frank Zelezinski is again presiding.
Nicholson is serving multiple sentences, amounting to life imprisonment, at Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill for other crimes, including the attempted murder of a Harvey police officer earlier on the same day that Cook was slain.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys spent about five hours Wednesday addressing issues from Nicholson’s earlier trial via pretrial motions and selecting a jury of 12 with two alternates.
Prosecutors allege that Nicholson was looking to rob someone when he sneaked up to the veteran officer’s car and shot him twice in the back of the head through an open window.
Several potential jurors from an initial pool of more than 60 were dismissed Wednesday because someone they knew was involved in a shooting or a gun-related homicide. One man said he didn’t feel he could be impartial because he was once falsely accused of murder.
At least one witness who did not appear during the previous trial is expected to testify this week. Prosecutors said they intend to call George Guider, a felon who was held in contempt of court in October when he refused to testify about what he knew about Nicholson around the time that Cook was killed.
Last fall, Guider was offered immunity from prosecution for any crimes that he admitted to during his testimony but still declined to testify. On Wednesday, under questioning by the judge, he agreed to take the stand, again with an agreement with the state for immunity.
Guider is serving time at the downstate Pinckneyville Correctional Center on convictions for aggravated battery with a weapon and drug charges. He’s eligible for parole later this year but still has the contempt charge pending.
Nicholson’s trial is expected to run through next week.
Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter.
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