A jury was selected for the trial of Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine on Monday. Eight women and four men will serve on the jury that will decide Rovestine’s guilt or innocence on 10 felony charges. In addition, two men and one woman were selected as alternates. The alternates are needed in case one of the jurors is unable to fulfill their duties. Rovenstine’s charges include bribery and official misconduct. He was indicted in February 2016. The indictment alleges Rovenstine agreed to accept $40,000 to give former martial arts instructor Kevin Bronson special privileges while Bronson was in jail. Among the alleged privileges, Rovenstine allowed Bronson to communicate with former Grace College professor Mark Soto unrecorded despite a request from Warsaw police to record conversations between the two men. Warsaw police officer Paul Heaton investigated the two men for extortion tactics while trying to raise money for a movie about Bronson’s life and his gym, Young Dragon?Enterprises. Rovenstine is also charged with threatening Heaton. During jury selection, lawyers on both sides questioned potential jurors about their understanding of the burden of proof and witness credibility. The witness list contains many law enforcement officers from Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and Warsaw Police Department. Also, county officials such as prosecutor Dan Hampton and Kosciusko Superior Court II Judge Torrey Bauer are listed as potential witnesses. Deputy special prosecutor Tami Napier asked if Rovenstine’s status as a public official would make jurors want a higher standard of evidence from the state. “There is one Indiana Code and it applies to everyone,” she said. Rovenstine’s defense team asked potential jurors about the presumption of innocence, reminding them that the burden of proof lies with the prosecution. Lawyers asked potential jurors if they would consider the testimony of a police officer more credible, or judge an inmate’s testimony with more skepticism, due to their respective positions. Several people who are incarcerated are scheduled to testify. Special Judge Stephen Bowers set opening statements to begin on?Wednesday in Kosciusko?Circuit Court. Bowers said he wanted a day for the lawyers and him to work on preliminary matters and to give the jury time to make arrangements with their jobs.
