District Attorney James P. Goodman asked a jury to consider murder in the first degree and impose the death penalty in rendering a verdict in the trial against Julius C. Enoe, 32, of Reading, which began Monday at the Schuylkill County courthouse.

Goodman outlined the case he was going to present to prove Enoe guilty and asked the jurors to use their common sense in sifting through the evidence.He told them the evidence will show that three men came into the borough of Shenandoah on March 16, 2010 to commit burglary and robbery. Victim of the crime was Bruce Forker, who was robbed by the trio and then shot in the head by Enoe.Goodman said two accomplices have turned state's evidence. He admitted they received "a deal" and will be sentenced to 13 and 15 years in prison instead of life or death.Defense Attorney Robert Kirwan II, also addressed the jury and told them to keep an open mind because when the case is over, they will prove that Enoe is an innocent man and that he did not pull the trigger that killed Forker because he was not in the house at the time of the shooting."This is not a simple case and is more complicated than indicated by the DA and we will ask you to bring in a verdict of not guilty," Kirwan said.Judge Jacqueline Russell, who is presiding over the trial, outlined to the jury how she will proceed and cautioned them that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."You are the judge of the facts and you will decide the case on your recollections," she told the jurors.First witnessThe first witness was the victim's fiancee for seven years, Kasa Brennan, who testified to what happened that evening.She said when she opened the door to take out garbage early that morning "two black males forced their way into the home." She described them as wearing masks which covered their faces and they wore hats pulled down to their eyebrows and also wore gloves.One of the males grabbed her and took her throughout the house and then to the middle room were she begged not to be shot. She told the man holding her that she had two young children in the house.He told her to shut up and asked, "Where's the money? Where's the money?"She finally told him the money was upstairs in the computer room and that it was being saved to take the kids to Disney World. Moments later she testified she heard a pop and then smelled gun powder and when she went upstairs she saw Forker lying in the computer room with blood at his head.She ran to her mother's home and collapsed. A few minutes later both returned to the house and called 9-1-1. She testified the money and two cell phones were taken.Jahmal Oliverre, who lived with Enoe - his uncle - in Reading, testified he drove his uncle to Shenandoah to do a "jook," a slang word for robbery. He testified he and his uncle went into the house wearing masks and his uncle, who had a gun, and his uncle went upstairs.He testified he heard a pop and when he looked into the room he saw a guy lying in a pool of blood. He also saw the money lying on the floor and picked it up and ran. He admitted he had an agreement with the commonwealth to serve a 15- to 30-year sentence for his testimony.ObservationsThe trial was moved to the large Ceremonial Courtroom in anticipation of a large audience which failed to materialize.The group representing the victim and his fiancee made up the largest group in the courtroom, which lacks good acoustics and air conditioning.When windows were opened, the sound from the outside made hearing the witnesses difficult.Russell had to ask a witness a number of times to repeat what he said because he spoke in a low voice, which was drowned by the noise from the streets.The jurors were given pads and pencils so they could keep notes but only a few were observed writing. In the afternoon some used the pads to fan themselves.Several times jurors interrupted testimony, claiming they couldn't hear the witness.There is tight security. All entering the courtroom had to go through a screening booth.The defendant, who has been held in the county prison since his arrest in lieu of posting bail, was escorted from across the street, and into the courtroom by Sheriff Joseph Groody and six of his deputies, who then took stations at each entrance and in back of the defense counsel.