Laverne Ellis: Suspect was was given immunity as part of a plea negotiation. SPECIAL

The first day of trial in Richmond County Superior Court got off to a slow start after Laverne Ellis, 29, one of the defendants in the massive racketeering case, pleaded guilty.

Ms. Ellis was granted immunity Monday morning as part of the plea negotiation. In exchange for testifying truthfully in Richmond County and possibly in Aiken County, she will not face any charges in the June 21, 1998, robbery and slaying of Sam's Club Manager David Holt.

Ms. Ellis was the one who gave the two Mr. Colemans the inside information they needed to learn the best time to rob the store, Mr. Craig told the jury.

Only the two Mr. Colemans, who are not related, are accused of crimes connected with Mr. Holt's slaying - kidnapping, armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, burglary and a weapons violation. They are also accused of violating the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization law with Kendric Dudley, 30; Ronnie B. Overton Jr., 22; Jarman L. Harold, 24; and Charles D. Winters, 28.

Carlston Coleman Jr. listens to opening remarks in the racketeering case against him and five others. Mr. Coleman and another defendant also have been charged in the 1998 robbery and slaying of Sam's Club Manager David Holt. ANNETTE M. DROWLETTE/STAFF

Each of the six men have pleaded innocent.

''None of what (Mr. Craig) said is evidence. That's his opinion,'' Carlston Coleman's attorney, Michael D. Mann, told the jury in his opening statement.

''The reality is it's nonsense,'' Mr. Mann said of prosecutors' description of a long-term, criminal enterprise that ties such crimes as forgery to not only the slaying of Mr. Holt in 1998, but also the 1997 deaths of Ryan J. Singh, 21, and Manuel B. Arroyo, 19.

''This is not the Mafia. Do these guys look like organized crime?'' Mr. Mann asked the jury. ''They don't have the evidence. The reality is Carlston didn't do this.''

The other defense attorneys are expected to give their opening statements this morning.

Defendant Ronald Coleman enters Richmond County Superior Court for the opening day of trial in the racketeering case against him and five others. He is also accused in the robbery and slaying of Mr. Holt.

In a lengthy opening statement, Mr. Craig outlined his case. In order to convict someone of a RICO charge, the prosecution must prove a defendant committed at least two crimes for which he has not previously been convicted of committing, Mr. Craig told the jury.

What happened to Mr. Singh and Mr. Arroyo before they were taken to a rural dirt road in Warren County and shot will give the jury evidence of two prior crimes by the accused, Mr. Craig said.

After Ronald Coleman and Mr. Winters were robbed of $8,000 to $12,000 in Atlanta, money they intended to use to buy marijuana, Ronald Coleman suspected Mr. Arroyo had set them up, Mr. Craig said.

Returning to Augusta, Ronald Coleman and Mr. Winters went to Carlston Coleman's house, where they along with Mr. Dudley, Mr. Overton and Mr. Harold plotted the slayings, Mr. Craig said. Later that night, Mr. Singh and Mr. Arroyo were held and severely beaten, Mr. Craig said.

Mr. Craig did not tell the jury whether there is a witness to testify about when two young men were abused and killed. But he did tell the jury about a witness to at least part of the crimes involving Mr. Holt.

What's Next: Today, the final five defense attorneys will make opening statements to the jury and prosecutors will begin presenting witnesses.

In January, as David Easterling sat in the Columbia County jail awaiting trial on capital murder charges in the Feb. 3, 1998, slayings and robbery of Fred and Yong-Suk Walker, he told investigators he knew Carlston Coleman and Ronald Coleman had killed Mr. Holt, and that he had been the driver for the two Mr. Colemans.

Mr. Easterling is serving two consecutive life sentences for murder in the slayings of Mr. and Mrs. Walker in Evans, and for kidnapping in Mr. Holt's abduction.

Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or shodson@augustachronicle.com