Jury selection is underway in the retrial of Leroy Moore for the 2021 shooting of Tony Baker at a Whiteville apartment complex.
Moore allegedly shot Baker on Oct. 25, 2021, as the District Attorney’s office and city officials were taking nuisance abatement action against the management of the complex. Baker was the fourth person killed at the complex in two years. Whiteville Police investigated the killing.
Several weeks after the shooting, Moore was arrested in Fayetteville after a lengthy investigation by Whiteville Police and the State Bureau of Investigation.
This is the second time Moore has faced a judge and jury for the killing. He was tried in March, but the case ended in a deadlocked jury, when three jurors held out for a not guilty verdict. Moore took the stand in his own defense during that trial, and described how to other men allegedly fired the deadly rounds.
A new management company took over the complex after the city and state took legal action against the owners. Multiple improvements have been put in place since then, and reports of crime have dropped significantly in the area.
The new trial is expected to last two weeks.
