Jury selection for Ed Jameal Thomas’ trial began Monday for the murder of Eastern Michigan University football player Demarius Reed.
The selection process took all morning and was ultimately postponed until Tuesday.
Thomas’ defense requested a plea deal at 4:50 p.m. on Friday. According to the office of Judge Donald E Shelton, Thomas’s defense rejected the deal offered by the prosecutor.
The deal was the same as Thomas’s alleged partner in the crime, Kristopher Pratt. Pratt plead to second degree murder and was sentenced to 18 to 30 years in prison on the condition that all other charges would be dropped.
By Monday morning however, Thomas had rejected the deal and chose to proceed with the court case.
The trial will resume Tuesday. Thomas is also charged with two counts of armed robbery.
Pratt is already serving jail time in the Cottonwood Correctional Facility outside of Jackson, Mich. for an unrelated crime. As a part of his plea deal, however, he will have to testify against Thomas.
Demarius Reed was found by his roommate in the stair well of the University Green apartment they shared on October 17th 2013. Reed was killed by a gunshot wound.
