SAN ANTONIO – Testimony is set to begin Tuesday in the capital murder trial of Joshua Joyner.
Joyner, 16, is accused of shooting Albert Nelson, 19, to death in the parking lot of Elolf Elementary School in July 2015.
Bexar County Sheriff’s Office investigators said Nelson was lured to the school as part of a plot to rob him of a small amount of marijuana.
“We don’t know if he was shot in the course of self-defense or if it was just part of a robbery,” defense attorney Mario Trevino said.
He said Joyner, who was 15 years old at the time of the shooting believes that he has been wrongly accused.
“I’ve reviewed the evidence, and there’s a basis for his feelings,” Trevino said.
In February, Joyner was certified to stand trial as an adult. But because of his age, even though he is on trial for capital murder, he is not facing the death penalty.
A conviction of capital murder would mean a 40-year prison term, day for day, before he is eligible for parole.
Jury selection in Joyner’s trial ended on Monday.
Testimony will begin Tuesday in Judge Laura Parker’s 386th District Court.