Earnhardt murder trial jurors being picked

Published 12:00 am Monday, December 5, 2011

By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY ó Jury selection continues today in the first-degree murder trial of Robert Douglas Earnhardt who was charged in the Sept. 17, 2009, murder of his stepfather, Billy Tommy Elmore.
Potential jurors arrived Monday morning. The trial, expected to last through the week, will begin once jurors are selected.
Earnhardt is also on trial for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury for allegedly shooting a second victim, Tiffany Marie Barbee. Barbee is the girlfriend of Billy Elmoreís son and drove Elmore to the house that day.
Earnhardt is the son of Patty Kesler Earnhardt Elmore, the estranged wife of Billy Elmore.
Rowan County Sheriffís Office deputies responded to a domestic disturbance at 165 Leisure Lane, not far from Tamarac Marina, convenience store, the day of the shooting. Elmore was found dead when officers responded to a call of shots being fired.
After she was shot, Barbee left the scene and drove to Tamarac Marina convenience store to call police. She was wounded in the left arm and hand. She was airlifted and treated at Carolinaís Medical Center in Charlotte.
Patty Elmore had taken out a protective order the day before the shooting, but it had not been served.
Officials said previously that Elmore had moved out of the house because of ongoing domestic problems. He returned that evening to get his dog.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.