BATON ROUGE — Jurors began hearing testimony Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of killing three people in a Memorial Day shooting at an apartment complex swimming pool three years ago.

Ladarius Coleman was 15 at the time of the triple-homicide; he's 18 now. Prosecutors say Coleman and his brother David Williams were at the pool May 31, 2021, and ran into two people with whom they had a beef. A 1-year-old girl was caught in the crossfire and also died.

Coleman and Williams each face second-degree murder charges. The two had been set to be tried together, Williams' case was separated from Coleman's on Monday and moved to next March.

In brief opening arguments Wednesday, defense lawyer Jarvis Claiborne reminded jurors that prosecutors must prove his client guilty. He suggested that the state's witnesses might not be credible and that the prosecutors have a "heavy burden."

The prosecution said Coleman and Williams discovered that Reginald Thomas Jr., 20, and Dewayne Dunn Jr., 16, were at the pool and ambushed the pair and put everyone at the pool in danger.

In testimony, patrol officer Willie Brown said the killings were his first homicide case and that he inadvertently picked up evidence before it had been catalogued. He said he later realized that he knew Dunn and that he was removed from the case. 

A crime scene investigator also detailed obtaining video evidence from five cameras at the apartment complex.