The 12 jurors who will decide the fate of a New
Jersey man charged with 38 drug-related offenses
were chosen yesterday at Centre County Courthouse, Bellefonte.

Taji Lee, 24, will stand trial Oct. 17 in connection with what officials have called the largest drug operation Centre County has seen in recent memory.

Lee was arrested Jan. 11 after a three-year investigation and is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility, money laundering and drug delivery resulting in the death of Boyd Francis, according to court documents.

After an hour and a half of interviewing potential jurors yesterday, Pennsylvania Senior Deputy Attorney General Mike Madeira, Defense Attorney Ronald McGlaughlin and Lee chose 12 jurors and two alternates.

Madeira said the final 12 jurors are a typical Centre County jury. The jury includes seven white men, five
white women and two white female alternates, Madeira said.

Lee, who had previously expressed concern that his trial would be a "race issue," is not worried about a lack of juror diversity, McGlaughlin said.

"The most you can ask is that any juror be fair and impartial," he said. "And I don't think the lack of an Afro-American presence means the jury will not be fair."

Of the 30 prospective candidates, about six had read media coverage, Madeira said, but none of those six felt they couldn't fairly evaluate the case.

Madeira said this question ensures that the case will be tried in the courtroom, not in the media.

"Most juries do a pretty good job of saying that the media is only telling the portion of the story that they know right now," he said.

Madeira said most of the jurors are older than 35.

McGlaughlin said that, in this case, the jurors' ages are not a concern.

"I don't care if they are 21, 18 or 85 -- age doesn't matter to me," he said. "I'm more interested at their responses to the questions."

McGlaughlin said he has not yet decided whether Lee will testify, and he might not know until the middle of the trial.

"I won't put a client on the stand unless it's absolutely necessary or the case is that kind that dictates that," he said. "Any client has to be prepared to testify."

A pretrial court date is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 11 to discuss a bail reduction and dismissal of four counts of possession with intent to deliver.

Lee remains in Centre County Prison on $1.5 million
bail.