photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Rodney Marshall appears at a pretrial conference on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

More than 100 Douglas County residents have been called to potentially to sit on a 16-person jury in a double homicide trial in January.

The trial is for Rodney E. Marshall, 53, who is charged in Douglas County District Court with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted capital murder of a law enforcement officer, one count of attempted murder of a civilian, two counts of aggravated assault on an officer and one count of fleeing from police, all felonies, according to an amended complaint filed in October. The majority of the charges against Marshall could come with a life sentence if he is convicted.

Judge Amy Hanley said on Thursday that 120 potential jurors have been summoned, with jury selection to last as long as a day and a half starting on Jan. 6. However, she told the attorneys in the case to be prepared to give opening arguments as soon as possible after a jury is selected to keep the trial on schedule. Out of the 120 potential jurors, 16 will be selected for the trial; four of those 16 will serve as alternates. The jurors will have to attend court from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for as long as the trial and deliberations last. The trial is scheduled for two weeks.

“This is a big time commitment on our jurors’ parts,” Hanley said.

She said that she expects the parties to operate efficiently throughout the trial and to have witnesses and evidence ready to go to avoid any delays.

Deputy District Attorney David Greenwald said that the majority of his witnesses have been served subpoenas and are prepared to testify. Marhsall’s attorney, Cline Boone, said his subpoenas are being sent out Friday but that he anticipates no problems with the defense witnesses.

Hanley also asked that the attorneys warn the court if they intend to present any particularly graphic evidence — to give family members of the victims a chance to step out of the room if they so desire.

Marshall is alleged to have shot Shelby McCoy, 52, at 1115 Tennessee St. before driving across town on a moped to shoot William D. O’Brien, 43, of Lawrence, at 325 Northwood Lane on July 31, 2022. After the shootings, police staked out Marshall’s residence in central Lawrence, and when he tried to leave the home, he led police on a chase while allegedly firing a pistol out of his window that ended on Kansas Highway 10 near Eudora, as the Journal-World reported.

He has been in custody since his arrest on a $1.5 million bond.