Accused of gunning down a fellow gang member at a Kingston Housing Authority complex last year, jury selection in the murder trial of Corey Q. Smith began in Ulster County Court on Tuesday.

Ashton Dixon, 31, was shot dead on a sidewalk near Smith’s mother’s home in the Stuyvesant Charter Apartments around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 11, 2020. Smith was arrested the next day in Manhattan and jailed on a federal probation violation. He remains in federal custody at the Albany County Jail.

According to testimony by police at a June preliminary hearing in the case, Smith is a reputed member of the G-Shyne set of the Bloods gang. Police said they believe Smith shot Dixon, an alleged member of the gang’s “Sex Money Murder” faction, because his behavior had become a liability to the gang.

Cops testified that witnesses reported Dixon had gotten into an SUV and driven to Stuyvesant Charter after a heated phone conversation with Smith shortly before the shooting.

At the same hearing, Smith’s attorney, William T. Martin, said police have no factual basis to allege his client was a gang member. Martin called those allegations a “red herring” that would needlessly prejudice jurors against his client.

Martin also sought to throw out a statement allegedly made by Smith immediately after his arrest following a traffic stop in Harlem. A state police investigator testified that as he was being taken into custody, Smith asked, “Is this a body warrant?”

District Attorney Dave Clegg said the gang-related nature of Dixon’s killing had posed a challenge to police and prosecutors as witnesses were reluctant to testify out of fear of retaliation. The DA’s Office has taken a number of steps to shield the identity of witnesses, including seeking court orders to prevent the disclosure of their names to the defense until shortly before the trial, Clegg said.

“One of the challenges bringing this case is that potential witnesses are in fear of what might happen to them,” said Clegg. “The law offers different levels of protection that the court can mandate, and we are taking full advantage of them.”

Ulster County Court Judge Bryan Rounds is presiding over the trial. The prosecution’s case is being handled by veteran Assistant District Attorney Gerard Van Loan. Testimony is expected to begin on Wednesday, Sept. 15.