A jury of four blacks and two Hispanics was selected Wednesday in a $50 million lawsuit filed against white gunman Bernhard Goetz by one of four black teenagers he shot 11 years ago on a New York City subway.
Opening arguments were scheduled to begin Thursday in the civil case filed by Darrell Cabey, now 30, who was left brain-damaged and in a wheelchair after the Dec. 22, 1984, shooting.
Goetz, who became known as the “subway vigilante,” shot the youths after they demanded $5 from him. They argued they were panhandling, but Goetz said he was being mugged.
Goetz was cleared of charges of assault and attempted murder, but he served 8 months in prison for carrying an illegal weapon.
Cabey’s attorney, Ron Kuby, said he plans to argue that the shooting was motivated by racism.
