Dust-up delays deliberations in Troy 2016 murder trial
Jurors heard yelling at one another, then asked for “fresh air”
Jury deliberations in a Rensselaer County Supreme Court murder trial ground to a halt Tuesday as the jurors could be heard yelling at each other and the jury foreman accused another juror of misconduct and not following the judge’s legal instructions.
Very little deliberating appeared to be occurring as the jury spent more time listening to Judge Andrew Ceresia deliver several explanations of law concerning the definition of an affirmative defense.
Defendant Luis Alfredo Monge Guevara, 23, sat quietly in the courtroom as Ceresia, Assistant District Attorney Andrew Botts and defense attorney Jay Hernandez III discussed what to do about the jury after listening to the foreman’s complaints.
Guevara faces one count of second-degree burglary and two counts of seconddegree murder for allegedly fatally stabbing Javier Gomez Bartolon, 24, on Oct. 17, 2016 in his secondfloor apartment at 1 East Glen Ave. in Troy’s North Central neighborhood.
Tensions apparently had risen to such a high level that after the yelling and the lunch break the jury said in a note: “need fresh air.” They were escorted by four court officers out of the courthouse across Second Street to the Russell Sage College campus where they walked around or sat on the grass for 20 minutes.
When they returned, the foreman spoke to the judge and lawyers. Later from the bench, Ceresia said the foreman had accused another juror of misconduct and not following his legal instructions. The misconduct allegation was not detailed.
The judge and attorneys agreed there was no misconduct and that there was “spirited debate” taking place. They saw no reason to take action except to advise the jurors to respect each other.
The jury accusations were the latest strange development in the 31-monthold case against Guevara.
The case began with Guevara and three other defendants. It was marked by Ceresia dismissing two complete rounds of indictments and a partial dismissal of a third set of indictments. Ceresia ruled that former District Attorney Joel E. Abelove’s office failed to present evidence to the three grand juries corroborating the accomplice testimony they heard.
The case began Oct. 16, 2016 in a Colonie motel where Guevara, Salomon Najera Hernandez, 23, Cresencio Salaraz, 28, and Madaleno Perez Calixto, 32, were accused of fatally attacking Bartolon’s roommate Cristian Gonzalez Hernandez, 26, according to authorities and court papers. The four men dumped his body in the Quacken Kill creek in Brunswick, according to police.
The four co-defendants are undocumented Mexican nationals as were the two deceased homicide victims. The defense attorney, co-defendant and victim share the same last name but are not related.
Calixto and Hernandez struck plea deals while Salazar was deported to Mexico after his indictments were dismissed.
Ceresia told the jurors to be civil to each other and to follow the law. The jury will return Wednesday morning for a fourth day of deliberations.