Alonzo Trevillion did not fire the shots that killed Justin Maurice Harris on June 17, 2007, but he was criminally liable for Harris’ death just the same, a jury was told Monday.

Assistant District Attorney Dewey Arthur said in his opening statement at Trevillion’s trial in Warren County Circuit Court that Trevillion, 37, “aided and abetted” his three brothers when they planned and carried out the shooting that resulted in Harris’ death and assaults on two other men. He drove his brothers to and from the shooting, Arthur said, stopping on the way home to buy snacks.

The three brothers, Anthony Trevillion, Armond Trevillion and Matthew Nash, have already been found guilty and are serving life sentences, jurors were told, but defense attorney Louis Field said Alonzo Trevillion, the oldest of the four, was trying to act the part of older brother.

“He attempted to defuse what was a bad situation, and despite those efforts, a tragedy occurred,” Field said. “Alonzo Trevillion is an innocent man.”

The trial continued today with testimony from prosecution witnesses. Alonzo Trevillion faces charges of murder, two counts of aggravated assault and shooting into an occupied dwelling.

Harris was gunned down at his home at 1224 Grammar St. around 3 a.m., hours after Anthony Trevillion argued with Harris at the New New Orleans Cafe, a nightclub then in operation at the site of the current Biscuit Company on Washington Street. Anthony Trevillion and Harris had children by the same woman, and the shooting resulted from a confrontation at the club about her, police said.

Arthur said the men found out where Harris lived and then sneaked up on the house. Nash lured Harris out on to the porch by seeming to be attempting to make peace. Then Anthony and Armond Trevillion opened fire with an AK47 and a shotgun, spraying the home and killing Harris.

Jury selection, which took most of the first day of the trial, was made from about 300 potential jurors selected at random from voter rolls.

Opening statements came just before jurors were dismissed for the night by Judge M. James Chaney. The six man, six woman panel, along with two women alternates, will be sequestered for the trial which is expected to last two to three days.

Alonzo Trevillion has been in the Warren County Jail since his arrest hours after the shooting, District Attorney Ricky Smith said.

Anthony Trevillion, 37, was convicted in April 2008, and his brother Armond Trevillion, 28, in December 2008. Anthony Trevillion’s half-brother, Matthew Nash, 30, was convicted in February. The three men were also found guilty of weapons and assault charges that saw additional prison time tacked on to their sentences.

Nash’s cousin, Rufus Armstrong, also has been charged with Harris’ slaying.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com