TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — In August of 2021, 4-year-old Suni Bell was riding in the back seat of her family car as they drove down Hillsborough Avenue. Shots were fired into the car, killing Suni.

Tampa Police called it a senseless act of violence.

Soon, officers arrested five men in connection with the crime.

Zvante Sampson, Jaylin Bedward, James Denson, Quandarious Hammond, and Andrew Thompson are charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and shooting into a vehicle.

On Wednesday, jury selection began in the trial for all five men.

Tampa defense attorney Chris Castillo is not involved in the case, but he has served as a prosecutor in Hillsborough County. He said trials with multiple defendants are not rare.

“Co-defendant cases are not as rare as you think. People do commit crimes together rather regularly, so it’s not an uncommon problem that’s dealt with,” said Castillo.

He said there are legal issues during a trial like this that must be dealt with, because each defendant has the right to have their own attorney ask questions during the course of the trial.

“Each individual defendant has the right to confront their accusers and other witnesses against them,” said Castillo.

Still, he said there are a number of reasons to have all five defendants tried at the same time.

“The main reason is witness testimony and respect for victims, so the victims don’t have to repeat their testimony and tell their story multiple times for multiple juries and so the witnesses don’t have to come down to do multiple trials over a period of time,” said Castillo.

Jury selection in the trial may take several days.