A jury of eight men and six women will hear testimony in the C&C Salvage arson trial in Starke Circuit Court. Attorneys for the state and defendant James Campbell spent yesterday screening prospective jurors and finally settled on a panel of 12 with two alternates around 5:20 p.m. The scrap yard south of Knox at the intersection of U.S. 35 and Toto Road caught fire on March 20, 2014. Firefighters from eight local departments responded and spent several hours battling the blaze. One firefighter from the Bass Lake Fire Department was injured. Campbell owns the business. He was arrested eight days later on a charge of arson as a Class A felony. If convicted he faces between 20 and 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall advised the jurors the trial will take several days. Proceedings will start each morning at 9 and continue until around 5 p.m. The panel will not be sequestered, so Judge Hall told them not to listen to or read any media coverage during the proceedings. The jurors can discuss the case when they are all together in the jury room. Once testimony starts they will also be able to ask questions of witnesses.
