Jury selection under way for trial of Lynn cop

SALEM – Jury selection got under way Wednesday in the trial of Lynn police officer Geovanni Ruano, who faces charges concerning a road rage incident last year. Eleven jurors were seated.Four females and seven men have been selected so far. Three more jurors will be selected from the jury pool this morning. A total of 14 jurors will hear the expected week-long trial. Only 12 of those jurors will actually deliberate the case when it is finished to decide the fate of Ruano.Ruano, 46, of 16 Osborne St., Lynn, is a 13-year police department member who is currently on administrative leave. He will be tried on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery and witness intimidation arising out of an incident that began on July 31, 2010 in Lynn in which he allegedly struck Richard Zelandi in the shoulder and then struck him with his car during a road rage incident on Atlantic Terrace.Zelandi, now 25, was treated for his injuries at Union Hospital and gave a statement to police.The next day, Ruano and his girlfriend, Catherine Foley, 33, allegedly went to the victim’s home on Ocean Avenue and tried to encourage Zelandi not to make it a court incident and to blame it on himself.Foley, of 271 Lynn Shore Drive, also contacted another person concerning the incident, asking him if Zelandi was going to cooperate. She is also on trial for two counts of intimidation.Ruano and Foley maintain their innocence and remain free pending the outcome of their case.Judge Howard J. Whitehead is presiding over the trial.Assistant District Attorney Maureen Wilson Leal is prosecuting the case and Thomas Drechsler is the attorney for Ruano while Foley’s is Neil Rossman.