A 2-year-old homicide case finally is going to trial in Summit County Common Pleas Court.It has taken that long because the defendant, Elohim El-Jones, 26, was the subject of a 17-month manhunt.A team of officers from the Akron Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service caught up with El-Jones and arrested him Jan. 6 at a home on Euclid Avenue near the Akron Zoo. Police said at the time that drugs, money and a loaded .45-caliber handgun were seized when they took him into custody. Michael L. Kirksey, 31, of Akron, was the victim of a fatal shooting on Aug. 15, 2009, according to El-Jones’ Summit County indictment.A 45-year-old woman who was with Kirksey was hit in the leg by gunfire, but she survived.El-Jones is facing charges of aggravated murder with prior calculation and design, an additional count of murder, felonious assault and various firearms specifications in connection with the shootings, which occurred on Ericsson Avenue.An altercation between El-Jones and Kirksey the previous day at the Chapel Hill Mall might have festered for the hours leading up to the crime, police said.Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. today.Prosecutors and the defense attorney, Donald L. “Doc” Walker, declined to comment on details of the case during Monday’s jury selection.But justice system sources say the case has some mysterious elements.The shooting allegedly occurred from a car, and the shots were fired through an apartment window and screen, hitting Kirksey multiple times.There could be a question about whether prosecutors and police were able to find a witness capable of directly identifying the shooter.Summit County Assistant Prosecutor Brian LoPrinzi touched on the issue of eyewitness identification during the jury selection process.Under Ohio law, LoPrinzi said, one eyewitness who firmly convinces the panel of the most serious charge is enough to convict a defendant for aggravated murder.Circumstantial evidence also could be heavily in play.In the long manhunt for El-Jones, investigators said they tracked him through three states — from Ohio to Maryland and California, then back to Ohio.The defendant’s brother, Yusef El-Daniels, 19, was shot and killed Aug. 18 on Beechwood Drive following a fight over a gun, police said.Two suspects are in custody on murder charges in that case, but the Beechwood Drive shooting was not related in any way to the case of El-Jones, Akron Police Sgt. Dave Garro said.Garro is assisting prosecutors at the trial table in the El-Jones case.Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or at emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.