DETROIT – Opening statements are set for July 12 in a rare federal death penalty case after attorneys and a judge agreed on a potential jury pool Monday in the 2001 shooting of an armored security guard at a Dearborn FCU ATM.
The case is a rare federal death penalty case in Michigan, which banned capital punishment in 1847, court officials said. However, the death penalty can be imposed in Michigan in certain federal crimes.
Timothy O'Reilly, 36, is charged with murdering Norman "Anthony" Stephens during a Dec. 14, 2001, holdup as Stephens and his crew went to replenish ATMs at the credit union, now known as DFCU Financial CU. Four other men participated in the early morning hold up, which netted them $205,000 in cash, but O’Reilly is charged with being the trigger man. The gang is believed to have participated in several other heists of armored trucks in the area, as well.
On July 6, prosecutors and defense attorneys will begin whittling down the number of jurors to 16, including four alternates. The trial is scheduled to begin July 21.
