Attorneys began interviewing potential jurors Wednesday for the murder case of Daquan "Q" Holmes, who is scheduled to go on trial beginning May 8 in New London Superior Court.

Holmes, 27, is accused of fatally shooting Johnny Amy, 25, on Franklin Street in Norwich on May 21, 2011. Charged with murder and attempted murder, he turned down an offer from prosecutor Stephen M. Carney to plead guilty in exchange for a 40-year prison sentence and opted for a jury trial.

Holmes, who has been held in lieu of $1 million since he was arrested in June 2013, wore business attire and sat with his attorney, Christopher Duby, as jury selection began before Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed. His mother and other family members watched from the gallery.

The attorneys are expected to select 12 regular jurors and several alternates for the trial, which will last about two weeks.

According to testimony at previous court hearings, Holmes was involved in an altercation outside of Chacers bar on Franklin Street at about closing time. Witnesses said William "Trig" Long retrieved a Ruger .22 pistol at his East Main Street apartment and returned to the Franklin Street area.

Witnesses said Amy, 25, was walking on Franklin Street with another man when Holmes and Long got out of a car, and Holmes shot Amy. They said that Amy, who died of a gunshot wound to the head, was not the intended target of the shooting.

k.florin@theday.com