Jury selected in murder trial in death of Wellborn teacher

Jovon Gaston

A Calhoun County  jury was seated Monday to hear the case of a Jacksonville man charged with capital murder in the 2011 killing of a Wellborn school teacher.

Four women and 10 men, including two alternates, were selected over eight hours of questioning and deliberation between the state and the defense.

26 year old Jovon Gaston,  is charged in the 2011 death and kidnapping of Wellborn Elementary teacher Kevin Thompson. Gaston is one of three arrested in connection to the Thompson case.

26 year old Nicholas Smith,  was sentenced to death in 2013 for the killing. 31 year old Tyrone Thompson, is currently seeking money to hire a mental health expert after Calhoun County Circuit Judge Debra Jones found him competent to stand trialThe three men allegedly kidnapped the victim and drove him to ATMs, forcing him to withdraw money at gunpoint, according to prosecutors in Smith’s case. Following the robbery, the victim was taken to a secluded section of U.S. 278 near Piedmont. His body was found near the highway early on the morning of April 23, 2011, stabbed to death.