KENNETT, Mo. (AP) -- The trial for Heather Ellis, whose case has strong racial overtones, has resumed in Kennett and could go to the jury Friday.
Ellis is accused of cutting in line at the Wal-Mart in January 2007, then becoming belligerent and refusing to leave after store managers asked her to go.
The 24-year-old Louisiana schoolteacher claims she was pushed by a white customer, harassed by store employees and called racial slurs by police officers who arrested her.
On Thursday, the jury heard testimony from Wal-Mart employees and Kennett police officers. The defense worked to show they weren't credible witnesses.
Ellis could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of assaulting officers, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace. The case has drawn interest both from civil rights groups and organizations like the Ku Klux Klan.
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