Murder defendant Arsenio Curtis enters Catawba County Superior Court for pre-trial motions Monday morning.
One of the men charged in the 2016 shooting deaths of two people in Claremont is expected to face a jury this week.
Defendant Arsenio Dewayne Curtis, 32, of Hickory is charged in the deaths of Deidra Ramseur and Mark Wilson, and faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
He is one of five people charged in this case.
Jordan Rivera was convicted of accessory to murder and sentenced to life in prison in June. Three other defendants in the killings — Reand Rivera, William Powell and Devin Ussery — pleaded guilty and were sentenced last year.
Prosecuting attorney Lance Sigmon said in Catawba County Superior Court on Monday that Curtis was offered a plea deal of a minimum of 22 years in prison.
Curtis’s attorney J. Edgar Halstead said Curtis wants to prove his innocence and turned down the offer.
Judge W. Todd Pomeroy will oversee the trial, and jury selection began Monday.
Pomeroy said the trial could conclude early next week.
