Jury selection is slated to begin today in New London Superior Court for a man accused of setting fire to an apartment building at 143-145 Rockwell St. in Norwich on July 9, 2011.

Marwan O. Chankar, 37, is already serving a 58-month prison sentence for serving as the getaway driver in two bank robberies.

Earlier this year, he rejected prosecutor David J. Smith’s offer to plead guilty in the arson case in exchange for a 10-year prison sentence. He faces a maximum sentence of 50 years if he is found guilty of first-degree arson, first-degree burglary and criminal mischief.

Police said the fire caused about $400,000 in damage and displaced about 10 residents. Five of the city’s fire departments responded to the large blaze, and two firefighters suffered minor injuries.

The trial will take place before Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed.

Before Smith and attorney Theodore Koch begin interviewing potential jurors, the judge is expected to hear arguments on Koch’s motion to suppress statements that Chanker made to Norwich Police Officer Robert Smith and Sgt. Peter Camp on July 26, 2011.

Koch claims that the officers approached Chankar at gunpoint while he was standing outside a clinic on West Thames Street, seized his backpack and escorted him to a cruiser, telling him they were “going to talk.”

Koch said the officers did not inform Chankar he was free to leave, had a right to remain silent and had a right to an attorney.