The capital murder trial for Jacob Gideon Copeland, 24, of Madison began Monday in the courtroom of Circuit Court Judge Chadwick Wise.

Copeland is charged with two counts of capital murder for the deaths of Damian Blake Ricketts, 21, of Hazel Green and Devin Edward Richard, 22, of Huntsville. Copeland, who was 19 years old at the time of the Aug. 31, 2017, double homicide, claims he shot the two victims in self defense.

The victims were found shot to death inside their white Nissan compact car, which was parked in the driveway of a home in the 29000 block of Analicia Drive. Officials told The News Courier in 2019 that one of the victims sustained three gunshot wounds to the head, while the other sustained six gunshot wounds to the head and torso.

Copeland told investigators the two men pressured him to buy heroin by saying he stole their gun. He also alleged they threatened him by phone, by text message, and with what turned out to be an air rifle before he fatally shot them.

___

(c)2023 The News Courier (Athens, Ala.)

Visit The News Courier (Athens, Ala.) at enewscourier.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.