Jury Selection Starts In Turk Trial, Lawyer Hopes Charges Will Be Dismissed

August 1st, 2005 | By Administrator

Jury selection started today (August 1) in the weapons trial of Tab ?Turk??? Virgil, who is currently incarcerated on attempted first-degree murder charges and weapons violations.

The charges stem from a January 26, 2004 shootout with Memphis, Tennessee SWAT team members. Prosecutors say that Virgil injured officers as they raided an apartment seeking a cache of heroin and weapons. As they entered the apartment, gunfire erupted.

S.W.A.T. team officer Chris Harris was shot three times, in the jaw, hip and leg and another officer was wounded by ?friendly fire??? from another S.W.A.T. team member.

Virgil is charged with being a felon in possession of a handgun, a fugitive in possession of a handgun and being a drug addict in possession of a handgun.

The rapper also faces first degree murder charges in state court. Virgil has maintained his innocence, saying that he was hiding in a closet as the officers raided the apartment.

“We can never tell which way a jury is going to go” Virgil?s attorney Javier Bailey told AllHipHop.com. “But I am confident that the jury will take one look at the evidence and dismiss the charges against Mr. Virgil. When it all comes down to it, I feel that the actions of the officers and [the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation] in this case further add to the tensions and distrust that are very present between the Hip-Hop community and law enforcement.”

According to representatives for Virgil, gunshot residue found on the rapper was returned as inconclusive. An analysis statement read: ?These results can not eliminate the possibility that the individual could have fired, handled or was near a gun when it fired.???

Representatives say this is significant to Virgil?s defense of hiding in the closet. A surprise witness that was allegedly hiding under a bed during the shootout was found with no weapons, but yielded the same test results.

?I’ve never shot a police [officer], I’ve never owned a gun, I’ve never seen a gun,” Virgil told Memphis Tennessee’s Channel 3 News shortly after the shooting. “I’m scared praying. I hear boom boom. I don’t hear any police say ‘knock knock.’”

Virgil said officers called him out of the closet, but he was reluctant because officers wanted to “beat” him.

“I never saw a search warrant,” Virgil said. “I’ve been having drug problems since I was 14. Off and on battling heroin. I never fired a gun, never. I’ve never even seen a gun, never.”

Virgil is being held in lieu of $150,000 bond in Shelby County Jail.