A jury was selected Tuesday in a trial for a La Plata County man suspected of assaulting several women, torturing a dog and branding two women with a hot iron.

Louie Albert Lucero, 51, is charged with 17 counts, including felony assault, false imprisonment, motor-vehicle theft, violation of a protection order and animal cruelty. He faces several decades in prison if found guilty on a few or more of the charges.

Lucero has pleaded not guilty. He is being represented by public defenders Faith Winstead and Katie Telfer.

The trial, before a five-woman, nine-man jury, is being overseen by 6th Judicial District Judge David Dickinson.

Opening arguments are expected to occur this morning, at which time prosecutors and defense lawyers will have a chance to explain their side of the case.

Defense lawyers so far have not had a chance to argue for Lucero’s innocence, but prosecutors have filed documents in support of the charges.

Prosecutors accuse Lucero of a pattern of abuse in which he sought to control women through mental intimidation, fear tactics and brute force.

Legal motions filed by prosecutors suggest a pattern of bizarre behavior dating back more than a decade in La Plata County. The information in the documents is largely taken from victim and witness statements.

According to the motions:

Lucero broke the arms of two different women with whom he was intimately involved.

He poured 2 quarts of oil on a woman, making her believe that he would light her on fire.

He tortured a heeler-mix dog named Blue by picking her up by one leg and tossing her, which broke her leg. He also choked the dog and hit the dog in the head with a hammer, according to the motions.

He told a woman he was from Venus and she was his “master.” He claimed the women of Venus had trained him to be a “good slave.”

Lucero wanted to brand his initials into a woman’s skin. She refused. But she awoke to find Lucero pressing a hot, homemade branding iron into her left breast. Another woman allowed him to brand his initials into her buttocks, “but it was more like a dare,” she told authorities. In turn, she branded him on his left shoulder.

Lucero appears each day in court wearing a suit and tie. Hidden from the jury are shackles around his ankles. He smiled and says goodbye to the judge, lawyers and spectators at the end of the day.

Lucero is being held at the La Plata County jail on more than $250,000 bail.

His trial, which began Monday, is expected to last up to three weeks.

shane@durangoherald.com