Charles Crane/MDN Darrion Jackson reacts to his attorney’s opening statement to the jury during his murder trial at the Ward County Courthouse on Tuesday.

The jury trial for a Minot man claiming self defense in a shooting death at a Minot hotel in 2023 began in North Central District Court on Tuesday.

Darrion Deshon Jackson, 33, Minot, faces up to life imprisonment for the Class AA felony murder charge and up to five years for the Class C felony charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

A jury of four men and eight women was seated following two rounds of selection on Monday.

District Judge Stacy Louser is presiding over the trial, which opened with Ward County State’s Attorney Roza Larson charting the path the prosecution will take in explaining the events leading up to and following the death of the victim, Timothy Chrishaod Smith, 38, at The Vegas Motel in north Minot on Jan. 30, 2023.

“Dr. Barrie (Miller), who is our state medical examiner, will testify that she did the autopsy, and that he was shot five times. Now, you heard during voir dire, that the defendant is not disputing that he shot Mr. Smith and that this was self defense. You will be the ones to decide if shooting someone five times was proportionate,” Larson said.

Jackson’s court-appointed attorney Steven Mottinger told the jury he and his client “were not going to dispute the indisputable.”

“Decisions are made in an instant, and once those decisions are made we can’t back away from them. Mr. Jackson doesn’t have to testify. He’s going to testify. He’s going to tell you that he had been threatened by Mr. Smith in the past. He’s going to tell you that he believed Mr. Smith was reaching for his waistband, and based on his previous experience with Mr. Smith, he felt he was going to be killed. He shot Mr. Smith in self defense,” Mottinger said.

The first round of state’s witnesses consisted of Minot Police officers who responded to the scene and Timothy Goskesen, who was general manager of the Vegas the night of the incident and assisted Minot Police with reviewing security camera footage.

Despite court records indicating the trial is scheduled into next week, Larson said the proceedings would likely conclude by Friday.