Jury Selection Begins in New Britain Murder Case

A man is accused of shooting and killing a teenager over sneakers.

Jury selection has begun in the murder trial of a Meriden man accused of gunning down a teenager in New Britain over a pair of sneakers.

The Record-Journal of Meriden reports (http://bit.ly/1lxCgxv ) that Jonathan Gibbs, 26, entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday.  

A judge also lowered his bond from $3 million to $99,000 cash, a move that will allow the Correction Department to move him from the maximum-security Northern Correctional Institution to a facility closer to the courthouse during the trial.

Gibbs is accused of shooting Issaac Smith, 18, in the back of the head last June 16.

Police said the shooting occurred after a meeting in which Smith apparently tried to run off with a pair of sneakers that Gibbs had posted for sale on Facebook for $400.

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