Jury selected in Coeur d’Alene to hear potential death penalty case of Jonathan Renfro

A jury has been selected to hear the potential death penalty case against Jonathan D. Renfro for the 2015 shooting death of a Coeur d’Alene police officer.

Attorneys took eight days to choose the panel from a group of 1,000 potential jurors, which is believed to be the biggest group of jurors called in Kootenai County history.

Opening arguments will begin on Monday.

Renfro, 29, is charged with first-degree murder and several other charges in connection to the shooting death of Coeur d’Alene Police Sgt. Greg Moore.

Moore had responded to an area in northwest Coeur d’Alene in the early hours of May 5, 2015, and he encountered a suspect who shot him in the face, took his gun and drove off in his police car.

Prosecutors say Renfro admitted his involvement in the shooting.

“The defendant boasted that a bullet within the magazine was a ‘cop killer’ bullet,” the motion states. “When asked about what he would do if stopped by law enforcement, the defendant claimed he would go down murdering police officers.”

The case will be handled by Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh and deputies David Robins and Jed Whitaker. The defense includes Twin Falls attorney Keith Roark, who was appointed to represent Renfro along with Deputy Kootenai County Public Defenders Jay Logsdon and Linda Payne.

Attorneys said they expected the trial to last six to eight weeks, but it was not clear whether that time frame included jury selection.

If the jury convicts Renfro of first-degree murder, it would then be asked in a separate hearing whether the defendant should also face the death penalty.