By Alexander Dworkowitz
More than two years after five people were slaughtered inside a Flushing Wendy’s restaurant, the trial of John Taylor, the accused mastermind of the killings, was scheduled to begin next week.
Jury selection in Taylor’s trial was expected to begin Sept. 10 in the courtroom of State Supreme Court Judge Steven Fisher in Kew Gardens.
Taylor, 38, of Lefrak City is the second man to stand trial in the execution-style murder of five employees of the Main Street Wendy’s on May 24, 2000.
In February 2001, Craig Godineaux, 32, of Jamaica pleaded guilty to shooting three of the victims and two others who survived, contending Taylor had shot two additional victims. Godineaux is currently serving a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.
After speaking with Godineaux’s family and friends and reviewing a test which showed Godineaux’s I.Q. ranked in the lowest one percent of the population, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown elected not to pursue the death penalty against Godineaux.
Taylor, however, could face the death penalty if he is convicted.
Taylor was indicted twice on charges in the Wendy’s murders. In June 2000, he was charged with killing one of the Wendy’s employees. Three months after Godineaux pleaded guilty, Taylor was hit with a supplemental indictment, charging him with masterminding all five killings.
The beginning of Taylor’s trial comes after several months of motions in the highly watched capital case.
Over a several-hour period beginning late at night on May 26, 2000, Taylor signed a confession at the 111th Precinct in Bayside, according to prosecutors.
But Taylor’s defense team, led by attorney John Youngblood of the Capital Defender’s Office, argued the confession was invalid, saying Taylor was denied his right to an attorney.
Fisher, however, ultimately decided to allow the confession in a 40-page ruling issued on March 20.
The defense team suffered another setback on May 22 when Fisher ruled the jury pool that produced the two grand juries that indicted Taylor was acceptable.
Queens College sociology professor Andrew Beveridge had earlier testified that the jury pool had systematically excluded Hispanics, and defense lawyers had argued both indictments should therefore be thrown out.
On May 1, Fisher decided to wait until September to begin the trial. The defense has said it wanted a large jury pool due to the high-profile of the case, and jury pools are traditionally thinner during the summer.
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 141.
