Jury selection got underway today (Tuesday) in Carroll County District Court in the trial of 35-year-old Robert Oscar Whitenack of Carroll. Whitenack has been charged with dominion or control of a firearm or offensive weapon by a felon, stemming from an incident on May 25, just one day before a standoff with local authorities during which Whitenack was reported to have threatened himself and others with harm. The Carroll Police Department, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Carroll Fire Department, Carroll County Emergency Medical Services and the Iowa State Patrol all responded to the incident at 903 East Highway 30 that evening and blocked off a section of the roadway for several hours while authorities reportedly worked to calm Whitenack, who was taken into custody for the second time in two days at approximately 9:45 p.m. that night. During today’s jury selection, attorney for the defendant, Mark J. Rassmussen, said his objective is to ensure that his client receives a fair and impartial trial. He said there is no debate as to whether or not his client is a felon, but being a felon, he asserts, does not automatically make him guilty of other crimes. Carroll County Attorney, John Werden, told prospective jurors there is a pretty short checklist for determining guilt or innocence in this case, and proving motivation is not on it. He said there are really two basic facts that need to be addressed for this charge: Is the defendant a convicted felon? Yes he is. What constitutes possession is the second item on the checklist. Possession, he said, does not necessarily equate to ownership or even actually physically touching the object. The definition of possession or dominion, he elicited from jurors, is about control.
