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Trial Date For Suspected Kalamazoo Mass Shooter Set

Sehvilla Mann
/
WMUK

Jury selection for the trial of Jason Dalton will begin in Kalamazoo January 3rd. Dalton is accused of shooting six people to death in February 2016 while he was a driver for the ridesharing service Uber. Two others were seriously injured.

The trial in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court is expected to take about two weeks. Jury selection will begin January 3 with opening statements four days later.

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting says he won't appeal a State Appeals Court decision. It said statements Dalton made to police after his arrest can't be used during his trial.

Dalton's attorney has said he plans to pursue a defense of insanity.

The shooting spree began outside an apartment building in Richland Township during the evening of February 20, 2016. One woman was seriously injured but later recovered. Police say Dalton then drove to a car dealership on Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo where a man and his son were killed. Later four people were killed at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Texas Township near I-94 and a teenage girl was shot in the head but survived. Police say Dalton continued to pick up Uber riders between the shootings. He was arrested in downtown Kalamazoo.

Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Alexander Lipsey ruled that some statements Dalton made to police after his arrest could be used at trial but others could not. Dalton's attorney appealed his ruling. Earlier this year the Michigan Supreme Court ordered the state Court of Appeals to make a decision on the issue. It reversed Lipsey and said all of Dalton's statements are inadmissable. 

Andy Robins has been WMUK's News Director since 1998 and a broadcast journalist for over 24 years. He joined WMUK's staff in 1985. Under his direction, WMUK has received numerous awards for news reporting.