Apr. 11—NEW LONDON — Jury selection is underway in the case of a man in a wheelchair who is charged with allegedly shooting and seriously injuring a man more than six years ago outside a New London apartment complex.

Zachery Valentine was 22 years old when police said he shot Jerimy J. Escalera of New London during an argument on the evening of Aug 20, 2016.

Escalera told police he and his brother-in-law had scuffled with a group of four men and was "shot by the guy in a wheelchair," states the affidavit for Valentine's arrest warrant.

Valentine, who has muscular dystrophy, uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. Free on a $200,000 bond and now 29, Valentine was in New London Superior Court on Tuesday with his attorneys during the questioning of potential jurors for a trial expected to start in May.

Valentine is represented by the attorneys Anthony R. Basilica and his son, Anthony C. Basilica. The elder Basilica asked one potential juror if she agreed that police sometimes arrest the wrong person and that its the state's burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Valentine was the shooter.

"You've heard there are two sides to every story. Do you think you can decide this case only hearing one side?" Anthony R. Basilica asked.

The shooting occurred on the evening of Aug. 20, 2016 when police responded to 158 Hawthorne Drive for reports of shots fired. Police found Escalera lying in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his abdomen.

Police immediately developed Valentine as a suspect and said he fled the scene of the shooting in his mother's handicapped-accessible Dodge Caravan, which they later seized as evidence.

Police questioned Valentine's mother and father, Robert Valentine, after the shooting and officers reported hearing Robert Valentine in a phone conversation with Zachery Valentine, saying, "Oh, so you don't even know the guy who got shot," and "well if you don't know him he must not be from around here, an outsider."

One officer, also waiting for Zachery's Valentine's return to his mother's home on Hawthorne Drive, reported hearing Robert Valentine on the phone telling his son "If you're coming here, make sure there is nothing in the car," according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

Zachery Valentine showed up to meet with police later in the evening of the shooting but declined to speak to investigators. Tests of his hands were negative for gunshot residue but police reported that tests taken of his t-shirt revealed the presence of lead particles, one of the components of gunshot residue.

Escalera was treated at Lawrence + Memorial and flown by Life Star helicopter to Yale New Haven Hospital where he was treated for a lacerated left kidney, renal artery, spleen and liver. His colon was injured, he was bleeding in his abdominal cavity and had fractures to a rib and a vertebra.

On the night of the shooting, Escalera had been with family and friends at a picnic at Washington Park in Groton. After it was over, Escalera drove with his wife, four kids and brother-in-law in his Cadillac Escalade to Hawthorne Drive to drop off some leftover food at a friend's home. He had driven past the entrance to the parking lot and backed up to the entrance.

Escalera told police that as he was driving in reverse he passed a group of young guys "talking (expletive)." While unloading the trays of food, Escalera said he saw some of the same guys looking towards him and his family.

Escalera and his brother-in-law confronted the group, asking them something like "what was the problem with me backing up," and they replied something to the effect of "driving like an (expletive)," the police report shows.

Escalera said he argued with members of the group and when one of the men made a move, he punched him in the face. He told police another man took a swing at him and he heard a gunshot and "felt a sharp pain in his side." He said he remembered thinking to himself, "that's it, I'm going to die."

"The victim stated he saw the gun flash near the guy in the wheelchair and heard the gun drop to the pavement in front of the person in the wheelchair," the police reports shows. Escalera also told police he heard the man in the wheelchair tell someone to "pick up the gun." He later identified Valentine in a photo line up provided by police.

Police obtained video surveillance footage from homes near where the shooting occurred but none showed the actual shooting. Witnesses to the shooting were not cooperative with police.

The case is being prosecuted by New London County State's Attorney Paul Narducci. In addition to first-degree assault, Valentine is charged with carrying a pistol without a permit.

g.smith@theday.com