Photo by Candice Black Tytus Lamar Shields, left, of Belpre, appeared before Judge Mark Kerenyi in Washington County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday morning for the first day of trial for a drug-related incident in June 2020. Defense attorney William Summers presented his opening statements to the jury after members were selected earlier in the day.

Jury selection and opening statements took place Tuesday at the Washington County Common Pleas Court for a Belpre man facing drug trafficking charges.

On June 10, 2020, Tytus Lamar Shields, 31, 1572 Elizabeth St. Apt. A, Belpre, was arrested after a search warrant was executed at his residence and a neighboring apartment yielding fentanyl-related compounds, over $18,000 and three firearms, one of which was believed to be stolen.

Sixty-five people were summoned and appeared before Judge Mark Kerenyi for jury selection. Twelve people were selected with two alternates, six women and six men are on the jury and the two alternates are men.

The prosecution, represented by Assistant Prosecutor David Silwani, began questioning potential jurors and presented them with life-applicable scenarios and asked what their opinions were in regard to the situation given.

Defense attorney William Summers emphasized the importance of a fair trial and asked jurors to make sure they would be able to be unbiased. He then asked if the jurors’ intentions were to “solve the drug problem” with Shields’ case and nobody expressed that intention.

After questioning, each side dismissed four jurors and selected the two alternates. After a short break, Prosecuting Attorney Nicole Coil presented the opening arguments.

She talked about drug trafficking and said it is a “very lucrative business.” When Shields was arrested in June of 2020, Coil said he was “cooperative, honest and forthcoming.” She referenced Shields’ statement when he was interviewed and talked about the items found in his apartment and the nearby unit C.

She said Shields lived in unit A with his wife, children and cousin and two co-defendants, Andrew Robert Johnston, 41, 1572 Elizabeth St. Apt. C, Belpre, and Kelci Leann Wise, 19, same address, lived in apartment C.

About 200 grams of suspected fentanyl were found in a safe inside apartment C and Coil said Shields has a key to that safe and the apartment itself.

Eighty-four grams of suspected fentanyl were found in the glovebox of a BMW in the apartment parking lot and Coil said when Shields gave a statement that day, he claimed all of the items found were his including three guns and over $18,000 in cash.

“He said there were three ‘zips,’ a common term used for a measurement of drugs,” she said. “His attorney is going to do his best to change his testimony about three things: Arguments that those guns were not his, they were his wife’s, the drugs in apartment C were Andrew or Kelci’s and (you’re) probably going to hear the fentanyl-related compound in the BMW was not his because the title was not registered to him.”

Coil told the jury she believed the defense will say Shields was associated with those things but not this particular time and that the defense could deem it a “big unfortunate incident.”

“I ask you to do two things: First is, please listen carefully to the testimony and give careful attention to Shields’ own interview,” Coil said. “Second, please use your own common sense when analyzing the defense counsel’s arguments.”

Summers approached the jury and said the case is “less about what the state has and more about what the state doesn’t have.” He said oftentimes with drug busts, members of law enforcement tend to arrest everyone around the drugs.

“It doesn’t matter what state you’re in. In this case (it’s) the need for a big arrest, the need for a large bust and the need to tie a whole group of people all together for drugs,” Summers said.

When law enforcement executed the warrant, Summers said evidence did not show Shields trafficking drugs from his apartment. He said the drugs were found in apartment C, the residence of Johnston and West, not apartment A, Shields’ residence.

“There were no drugs found anywhere near (Shields) on his person, (they) weren’t in his home and (they were) not in a vehicle that (he) owned,” Summers said. “We have someone charged with trafficking drugs who did not possess them and charged with possession of firearms but they were not found in that apartment.”

He also said there is no camera footage or photos of Shields dealing drugs.

“However, they did provide conclusive evidence that prove beyond a reasonable doubt that drugs were found in a safe belonging to Kelcie Wise in apartment C. Wise is a known drug user (who) was not only charged on this case, she was also charged in Parkersburg for possession of fentanyl with the intent to deliver,” Summers said.

When the jury was dismissed for lunch, Silwani made a motion to remove the apartment units from the indictment which Summers objected to.

“I planned my defense around what was listed in the indictment. It prejudices my client with this jury. I would ask (for) trial to be continued, for the jury to be dismissed and a new jury appointed,” he said.

Kerenyi approved the motion, saying the court, Shields and attorneys knew which pieces of evidence were found in which apartment.

“The court has known about the correct apartments, the defense has known about the correct apartment,” he said.

After returning from lunch, Coil interviewed Lt. Josh Staats with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.

Staats is in charge of the major crimes task force and said he investigates drug crimes. He said he was working on June 10, 2020, and conducted a search warrant of apartment A. He said apartments A and C were searched at the same time.

Coil showed photos of the apartments, the safe, keys to the safe and apartments and the drugs seized. She also brought out pieces of evidence collected and Staats confirmed that’s what they found that day.

Inside of apartment A, where Shields lives, Staats said law enforcement recovered $396 in cash on his person, a large sum of money on the kitchen table where he was sitting, a key ring with keys to apartment C and the safe, a handgun with a magazine and ammunition, three guns in the bedroom and over $4,000 on the dresser.

“One of the guns was reported stolen out of Wood County,” Staats said.

During cross examination, Staats said he remembered seeing Shields sitting at the kitchen table playing poker and that he had a warrant for a no-knock warrant.

“Tytus was compliant with everything,” Staats said.

The next witness was Washington County Sheriff’s deputy David Tornes, evidence technician. He confirmed photos of the evidence collected. He said cash was not in the safe when he received it at the sheriff’s department because he does not receive cash if it is not marked as having evidentiary value.

“If it’s not marked for evidentiary value, it’s sent to the bank and deposited,” he said.

After Tornes, Wise testified against Shields as part of a plea agreement. She and Shields were arrested as part of a drug bust in 2020. She was sentenced to four years in prison for trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound. During opening statements, Summers told jurors Wise would testify as part of a plea agreement.

“The evidence shows that a twice-convicted person is blaming somebody else for her crime and getting a reduced sentence,” Summers said.

Wise told the court she had known Shields since she was a child.

“I love him and I hate doing this,” Wise said. “He’s a good person.”

The two lived in the same apartment complex and she testified there was a safe in her apartment where Shields would keep money and drugs. She said only she and Shields had a key to the safe. He also had a key to her apartment, she said.

Her fiance,Johnston, was also arrested in the drug bust. Wise said he would receive the drugs from Shields and Johnston and Shields would sell them out of her home.

She noted she considered them Shields’ drugs and she kept them for safe keeping. About 10 people visited her apartment on any given day.

Wise testified that she was on drugs when she was arrested, but she lied to her family and friends about her drug addiction. After cross examination, she told Coil she lied about her drug addiction because it would disappoint her family and friends.

“I didn’t want them to know,” she said.

While in prison, she’s taken Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous classes and has learned to take responsibility for her actions.

Testimony will resume at 9 a.m. today.

Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com; Michele Newbanks can be reached of mnewbanks@newsandsentinel.com.