Judge bans woman for photographing jurors

A judge kicked a woman out of his courtroom Friday for taking pictures of jurors the day before.

One juror told Oklahoma County District Judge Ray C. Elliott she saw the woman — thought to be a family member of murder defendant Jeffrey McCoy — photograph her and other jurors as they were getting on an elevator to go home.

"It made me very uncomfortable," the juror told Elliott. "In my opinion they were photographing us."

The juror expressed concerns about possible retaliation, but told the judge it would not affect her ability to make a fair decision.

Closing arguments were delayed while Elliott interviewed jurors and addressed their concerns. The judge banned the woman from the courthouse for the remainder of the trial after she admitted filming with her cell phone.

"It is neither proper nor acceptable and I've made it crystal clear," Elliott said.

Some jurors told the judge they thought the woman was filming the defendant as he was being led to the jail elevator, which is near other elevators on the seventh floor of the courthouse.

"I noticed one of the family members taking pictures," a juror told the judge. "I don't feel like I was being recorded or videotaped."

Jurors were also interviewed by prosecutors and attorneys for the defendant.

Assistant District Attorney Dan Gridley asked the judge to remove the juror who expressed concerns about retaliation. Assistant Public Defender Ben Munda asked the judge for a mistrial, citing violent tendencies by some members of the defendant's family.

The judge denied both requests.

Jurors convicted McCoy, 19, of second-degree murder in the Oct. 3, 2018, death of Sandy Atkinson and recommended 20 years in prison as punishment.

They also found McCoy guilty of two counts of pointing a firearm at another and recommended two years in prison for each count.

Prosecutors contended McCoy forced his way into an apartment, "demanded things ," and fat ally shot Atkinson, who was in a wheelchair.