Jury picked for trial starting tomorrow

Opening arguments and the first testimony in SC v. Drotning is set for 9:30 tomorrow morning at the Oconee Courthouse.  The first day of General Sessions Court is being taken up by the jury selection and the defendant’s pre-trial motions.  Jacob Daniel Drotning faces four criminal charges, as the result of a late night house fire in 2014 near Seneca where a woman, Catherine Cook, suffered what were described as burns over 50% over her body.  Drotning was arrested and charged with attempted murder, arson second degree, criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, and malicious injury to property.  From a large pool of jurors, one woman and eleven men were seated as the jury.  Before his jury strikes were exhausted, defense lawyer Lee Cole rejected every woman who presented herself from the pool for jury service.  This afternoon Judge Scott Sprouse is expected to hear pre-trial motions.  Sprouse this morning denied Cole’s motion for a mistrial, after the defense lawyer claimed that his client saw what appeared to be Cook speaking to someone wearing a badge inside the courtroom.  But assistant solicitor Lindsey Simmons quoted the victim’s advocate from her office as denying that the victim spoke to any potential juror.