By John McCann

jmccann@heraldsun.com; 419-6601

DURHAM -- A motion from the defense to dismiss the first-degree murder case of Angel Luis Richardson was denied on Thursday, and jury selection wrapped up.

Richardson is accused in the Dec. 4, 2006 killing of Marlon Rand, who was 23. His body was discovered behind the Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers (TROSA) North Street facility.

Defense lawyer Jonathan Broun wanted Superior Court Judge Cressie Thigpen Jr. to throw out Richardson's case on grounds that District Attorney Tracey Cline in Sept. 2007 had evidence a person who went by the nickname "Little Head" was a suspect in the murder but didn't provide the defendant with that information until Nov. 2009.

Defending Cline, James Coman, senior deputy attorney general with the N.C. Department of Justice, on Wednesday said the district attorney initially didn't realize "Little Head" was someone other than Richardson.

Much of the week in Thigpen's courtroom was spent by Richardson's lawyers and Cline attempting to gauge potential jurors' fitness to serve.

Broun asked potential jurors if it would bother them to hear people referred to by names like "Ghost," "Face," "Twin" and "Smut."

The lawyer said jurors likely would hear about the defendant being from Puerto Rico, so he tried to get at potential jurors' biases about Puerto Ricans. But Cline objected, and the judge sustained her request. Broun asked why. Cline said Broun was introducing evidence during jury selection.

Broun, who wanted to know whether potential jurors could handle pictures of human gore, made sure they understood Richardson, 23, is presumed innocent, and doesn't have to testify or present any evidence to prove his innocence. The burden of proof is on Cline.

Cline wanted to be sure potential jurors understood their collective responsibility to send Richardson to jail for the rest of his life if that's where the evidence and the law met.

Also representing Richardson is defense lawyer Lisa Williams, who asked potential jurors whether talk in this case about substance abuse would keep them from being fair and impartial.

Prospective jurors also were asked whether they knew each other. One said he was familiar with another potential juror from White Rock Baptist Church. Then a prospective female juror looked around and said she may have rubbed shoulders a little bit at White Rock with those two.

While the three from White Rock said their church affiliation wouldn't impact them as jurors, the defense team had them dismissed.

One potential juror said it rang a bell that someone named Jason Williams is linked to the case. He said he was thinking about the former Duke University basketball guard and ESPN TV analyst who played under that name. He is now known as Jay Williams.

"That is not him," Cline assured the man.

That sent chuckles throughout the courtroom.

Richardson's trial is expected to last two to three weeks.