A jury of seven women and five men was sworn in Monday in the trial of two men accused of stalking a drug cartel attorney before his murder in Southlake three years ago.
The case, in federal court in Fort Worth, is expected to shed light on how cartels and their hit squads operate inside the United States.
Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda, 59, and his cousin, 60-year-old Jose Luis Cepeda-Cortez, are charged with surveilling Juan Guerrero-Chapa by placing remote cameras in his Southlake neighborhood and a GPS tracking device on his car.
NBC 5 NewsThe two, dressed in suits and ties, quietly watched the jury selection process.
Many of the jurors said they had heard of the crime but most, if not all, said they also could keep an open mind.
Jurors were chosen from a panel of 60 citizens. The judge said another 40 were "on ice" in another room, but they were never brought into the courtroom.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
The 43-year-old Guerrero was shot while getting into his Range Rover at Southlake Town Square May 22, 2013, after shopping with his wife. He was shot once in the chest and nine times in the back, according to his autopsy.
Guerrero's wife is expected to be one of the first prosecution witnesses.
News that Guerrero was living quietly in Southlake in a $1.2 million mansion with his wife and children came as a surprise to local residents and even the city police, but federal agents knew he was there. He was a U.S. government informant.
Defense attorneys also said he was the "de facto" head of the Gulf Cartel.
Guerrero's killing sparked a major investigation by the FBI and other agencies. Prosecutors turned over six terabytes of files to defense attorneys.
The two defendants are not accused of killing Guerrero. Three other men also were indicted in the case but their names are blacked out in public court documents. They have not been arrested and are believed to be in Mexico.
Another man arrested for stalking the victim, 32-year-old Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Campano, has pleaded guilty in the case and his expected to testify against the other two – his father and father’s cousin.
The father and son came to North Texas from Mexico to find and follow Guerrero, used multiple cars and disposable cell phones, and even rented an apartment in Grapevine, prosecutors said. They were involved in the murders of 12 other people in Mexico, prosecutors said.
The cousin was living in Edinburg, Texas. All three are Mexican citizens.
Guerrero was the personal attorney for former Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cardenas.
Defense attorneys said Guerrero effectively took over the cartel after Cardenas’ arrest. They also accuse Guerrero of ordering murders and kidnappings.
Cardenas, an inmate at the federal “Supermax” prison in Florence, Colorado, has been named as a defense witness.
Cardenas was sentenced in 2010 to 25 years in prison after agreeing to forfeit $50 million and cooperate with U.S. investigators.
Guerrero played a key role in helping Cardenas come up with the money and provided detailed information on cartel activities, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The men arrested for stalking Guerrero told investigators a cartel operative ordered Guerrero’s murder to avenge the death of his father years earlier, the newspaper said, citing confidential law enforcement records. He has not been arrested.
The trial is expected to last at least three weeks.
Defense attorneys have suggested they want to bring out Guerrero’s “bad acts” while living in Southlake to show that many people may have had a motive to kill him.
But U.S. District Judge Terry Means has warned defense lawyers that he will not allow them to put the victim on trial.
