Jury selection under way in murder trial

By Bonnie Culverhouse

Jury selection is scheduled to begin today (Tuesday, August 9), in the shooting death of 37-year-old Anthony John Bruns of Springhill.

Monday’s courtroom was the scene of evidentiary arguments. If a jury is selected Tuesday or Wednesday morning, the trial could start Wednesday afternoon.

Bruns reportedly was found on the side of Percy Burns Road, just south of Reynolds Street on Louisiana Hwy. 157 in June of 2020.

Webster Parish Sheriff’s investigators Phillip Krouse and Tommy Kemp Jr. worked the case and arrested Logan Harmon Smith, who was 21 at the time. Smith is from Taylor, Ark. 

Bruns was allegedly killed in another location, and his body dumped at the site where Springhill Police were called. It was reportedly out of their jurisdiction, so Sheriff’s investigators were called to the scene.

In a 2020 story, KTAL news reported Smith confessed to shooting Bruns but did not disclose a motive, claiming he did not know the victim prior to the shooting. He was charged with second-degree murder.

Smith’s trial will be held at the Webster Parish Courthouse under presiding Judge Charles Smith. Assistant District Attorney Jimbo Yocom is the prosecutor and Attorney Mary Ellen Halterman of Shreveport, is defending Smith.


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