Drive-by victim heads to trial in one of two shootingsEric Wallace’s case stems from attack on Baldwin Ferry Road in 2011

Published 11:44 am Monday, November 26, 2012

A Vicksburg man who lost the use of his legs in a drive-by shooting goes on trial today for one of two drive-by shootings for which he has been indicted in the past year.

Jury selection was to begin today in the trial of Eric Wallace, 31, 7160 Warriors Trail, District Attorney Ricky Smith said.

Wallace has been held without bail in the Warren County Jail since his arrest May 30 in a drive-by shooting at LD’s on Mulberry Street, but that case will not go to trial until February, Smith said.

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“This is an older case that occurred last year,” Smith said.

This week’s trial focuses on a shooting on April 10, 2011, when Wallace is accused of firing two shots from a 1995 Nissan Maxima at two women walking near Eastview Apartments, 1900 Baldwin Ferry Road.

Wallace has been confined to a wheelchair since Nov. 26, 2006, when a bullet struck and paralyzed him, police Chief Walter Armstrong said. Wallace has been a suspect in 19 gun-related crimes since 2005, many of which occurred after he was wheelchair-bound, Armstrong said. However, Wallace has never been convicted of a gun-related crime, according to court records.

After the May 30 shooting, a search of Wallace’s home turned up a 9mm pistol believed to have been used in the shooting, police have said. Several boxes of ammunition also were recovered.

Wallace was indicted in January for the April 10, 2011, shooting and in July for the May 30 shooting. He is represented by Vicksburg attorney James “Buck” Penley Jr.