MOUNT VERNON — Opening arguments could start Wednesday in the felony trial of a Mount Vernon man in connection with gunshots fired into a crowd of people at the Moose Lodge. Three people were wounded in the Feb. 16 shooting, which police describe as gang-related.

Juan Miguel Garcia, 22, is charged with drive-by shooting, three counts of first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. On Monday, Garcia’s lawyer and prosecutors began to select a jury in Skagit County Superior Court, but a delay in proceedings prevented opening arguments from starting today.

Police say that just before midnight Feb. 16, a passenger in a blue pickup leaned out the window of the truck and fired a handgun at least eight times into a crowd of partygoers near the entrance of the lodge at 813 S. First St., according to a police affidavit filed in court.

Bullets struck Victor Cervantes, 17, in the left calf; Manuel Mancillas, 18, above his right knee; and Juan Pablo Castro-Rodriquez, 20, in the upper thigh; police said.

The pickup followed a small red compact car and people in both vehicles wore blue, indicating a possible tie to the Sureño street gang, which has ties to the South Side Florencia gang, officers said.

Investigators also determined that some of the partygoers had ties to the Norteño street gang, which are rivals of the Sureño and South Side Florencia gangs.

Two witnesses selected Garcia’s image from two separate photographic montages, according to a police affidavit filed in court. Police say that Garcia is a member of the South Side Florencia gang.