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A scared juror led to a mistrial Wednesday morning in the felony murder case against Dematrick Gray.
Gray, 23, is accused of acting alongside Demarcus Morgan, 20, in connection with the April 1, 2008, shooting death of Adrian Carswell, 24. Prosecutors believe Morgan and Gray robbed and killed Carswell because they did not like the quality of the marijuana he sold, according to court documents.
Carswell’s death from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and neck came in the midst of one of the deadliest weeks in Fort Wayne’s history, with nine homicides in 30 hours.
Testimony went into the early evening Tuesday, with jurors leaving the Courthouse about 5:45 p.m. After the jury left the building, one of the 11 female jurors was approached by a man as she neared her car in the parking garage.
According to statements made during Wednesday’s court proceedings, the man said something to the juror about how she would sleep Tuesday night. The juror believed he might have been affiliated with Gray’s family, having seen him in the courtroom that day.
The juror took the statement as a threatening gesture, but when she came to the Courthouse on Wednesday morning for the second day of the trial, she shared what happened with fellow jurors rather than with court officials.
The jury discussed it among themselves while other court hearings were held, Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull said.
The conversations were discovered, and prosecutors and defense attorneys met in Gull’s chambers to discuss the situation, Gull said.
After everyone was assembled in the courtroom and the jury still sequestered in the jury room, Gull tried to bring the juror out to question her about what had happened and what she said to the other jurors.
But the juror would not enter the courtroom, telling a police officer she was afraid the man was in the gallery.
“She’s afraid,” Gull said. “And she cannot remain a juror on this case.”
Allen County Deputy Prosecutor Steve Godfrey requested a mistrial.
“The state deserves a fair trial,” Godfrey said. “So does the defense.”
Gray’s attorney, Michelle Kraus, said he was adamant the person who approached the juror was not a member of his family.
“I appreciate that,” Gull said. “But she has the perception she was threatened by the defendant’s family. I can’t remove that perception. It has become a reality to her.”
The obviously frustrated attorneys set a new trial date for mid-August, around the time Gray was to stand trial on an unrelated robbery charge.
After the hearing, while the jury was led out by armed county police officers, Gull said it might be time for a change in Allen Superior Court policy about jury trials.
While some counties, particularly smaller ones, are able to provide constant supervision for jurors, such as escorting them to lunch and keeping them together at all times, that has not been a luxury Allen County could afford in all cases, Gull said.
But, she said, the possibility for such confrontations exists on any case, no matter how small.
