A jury was selected Monday for the second-degree murder trial of a well known Salmon Valley resident.
Gerald Miles Pattison faces the charge in the Oct. 17, 2008 death of 27-year-old Ryan Edward Hibbs.
According to police, Pattison allegedly fatally shot Hibbs during a confrontation at Pattison's acreage on the north shore of the Salmon River. Pattison was charged with Hibb's murder slightly less than a year later.
Second degree murder can occur on the spur of the moment whereas first degree murder is planned and deliberate.
Both carry life sentences but a person convicted of second degree murder can be eligible for parole in 10 to 15 years whereas one convicted of first degree must wait 25 years before a parole hearing can be held.
Pattison, a lifelong resident of the community just north of Prince George, is perhaps best known as the promoter of the Salmon Valley Music Festival. The event brought some of the world's biggest country stars to the local stage before it halted amidst controversy in the mid 1990s.
The trial will begin on Monday in B.C. Supreme Court at Prince George courthouse before Justice Heather Holmes and is expected to last five weeks. Crown counsel Shannon Keyes plans to call 18 witnesses.
Pattison is being represented by defence lawyer Rob Climie.
