Jury selected in Revere cop murder trial

REVERE – The sixteenth and final juror was selected Wednesday for the trial of two Revere men charged in the 2007 fatal shooting of Revere Patrolman Daniel Talbot.Proceedings were expected to begin today, including a juror view of the crime scene and other related locations, followed by opening statements by the prosecution and defense.Just before jury empanelment got under way Monday, defendant Robert Iacoviello Jr., 22, pleaded guilty to a single count of unlawful possession of a firearm for a 9mm Ruger handgun recovered from his Thurlow Avenue home a few days after Talbot’s homicide.That gun, recovered during the execution of a search warrant obtained prior to Iacoviello’s arrest, was not the murder weapon, according to Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.Iacoviello will be sentenced for the firearm possession charge after the trial concludes. Meanwhile, he stands charged with first-degree murder for allegedly shooting Talbot once in the head in the early morning hours of Sept. 29, 2007. Prosecutors allege Iacoviello was summoned to the scene by an associate who became engaged in a verbal altercation with Talbot’s group.Also facing trial is James Heang, 19, an Iacoviello associate charged as an accessory to Talbot’s murder after the fact. Prosecutors contend Heang assisted in the destruction of the murder weapon and clothing Iacoviello wore on the night of the shooting.Two other defendants – Derek Lodie, 19, and Gia Nagy, 19 – have already pleaded guilty to their roles in Talbot’s homicide and are serving state prison sentences.Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin, chief of Conley’s Homicide Unit, is prosecuting the case along with Assistant District Attorney Edward Krippendorf. Attorneys Peter Krupp and Willie Davis represent Iacoviello and Heang, respectively. Judge Patrick Brady is presiding over the case in Suffolk Superior Court.On their return to the courthouse, jurors will hear lawyers’ opening statements and begin taking testimony. The trial is expected to last about three weeks.