Almond Upton Jury Selection is Underway

Jury selection is crawling along in the murder trial of a Florida man, accused of intentionally running down New York State Trooper Christopher Skinner on May 29, 2014, killing him.

Finding an impartial jury in the Almond Upton trial is proving difficult since almost half of the potential jurors interviewed July 11 had at least some knowledge of the incident.

Trooper Skinner had been conducting a routine traffic stop on Interstate 81 between Hinmans Corners/Chenango Bridge and Castle Creek when Upton's truck mowed him down.

Upton, on arraignment, said he didn’t know what happened and he must have been in “a time warp.”

Upton’s mental state is expected to be at the center of the court proceedings.

The trial was expected to last about four weeks.

Under the first degree murder charge, the 62 year old Florida man faces life in prison.