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WILKES-BARRE TWP. &mdash; A jury was seated Friday for the homicide trial of Reynaldo Mercado, charged in the September 2018 killing of Fred Boote in his Wilkes-Barre home.
				Approximately 100 people were summoned to the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said six men and six women were chosen as jurors.
				The trial will begin Monday morning at the arena in Wilkes-Barre Township in order to comply with social distancing guidelines in place due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough, who is presiding over the proceedings, said he expects the trial to wrap up by Nov. 20.
				Mercado, 33, has been held without bail in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility since he was brought back from New Jersey on Sept. 21, 2018. Police said he fled to a relative&rsquo;s home and was attempting to leave the country for the Dominican Republic.
				A teenage girl, who police said was with Mercado the morning of Sept. 14, 2018, when he allegedly stabbed Boote, 58, to death and later doused his body with gasoline and lit it on fire, also traveled to New Jersey. The pair took Boote&rsquo;s Apple iPhone and $25 in cash from his home on Donald Court, police said.
				Louisa Alexandra Reyes, 16, pleaded guilty on Sept. 10 to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against Mercado, her former boyfriend. Reyes was listed among the potential witnesses for the prosecution.
				Police filed an open count of criminal homicide against Mercado as well as charges of burglary, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, theft by unlawful taking, arson, conspiracy to commit arson, abuse of corpse and tampering with evidence.
				Mercado was present for the selection with his attorney, Allyson L. Kacmarski.
				The prosecution team was made up of assistant district attorneys Drew McLaughlin, Tony Ross and Garry Scott.

Jury seated in Wilkes-Barre homicide trial