JURY TAMPERING CHARGED IN TRIAL JURORS SAY MAN TRIED TO SWAY PANEL.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - A reputed reputed adj. referring to what is accepted by general public belief, whether or not correct. gang member is facing felony felony (fĕl`ənē), any grave crime, in contrast to a misdemeanor, that is so declared in statute or was so considered in common law. charges after he was accused of telling three jurors to vote not guilty in the murder trial of two men accused of killing a 21-year-old woman. Nicholas Ordaz, 24, was charged with jury tampering jury tampering n. the crime of attempting to influence a jury through any means other than presenting evidence and argument in court, including conversations about the case outside the court, offering bribes, making threats, or asking acquaintances to intercede with after he was arrested at the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Courthouse during the trial of Scott Ward, 25, and Gabriel Smutz, 26. ``What so many people don't understand, they may think it's relatively innocuous in·noc·u·ous adj. Having no adverse effect; harmless. innocuous (i·näˈ·kyōō· conduct, but it goes to the heart of the jury system,'' Deputy District Attorney Robert Foltz said. ``If you can walk up to jurors while they are serving and tell them how to vote, and you are doing it in a fashion that might have an impact on them, then our jury system is meaningless.'' Foltz described Ordaz's Sept. 8 approach to the jurors as they were entering the courtroom as ``kind of menacing.'' A woman who told the jurors they should be fair was not charged. Ward and Smutz are charged with murdering Brandi Olivares so she would not report that she was gang-raped after passing out during a party at an Avenue S apartment during the 2003 Thanksgiving Thanksgiving annual U.S. holiday celebrating harvest and yearly blessings; originated with Pilgrims (1621). [Am. Culture: EB, IX: 922] See : America Thanksgiving national holiday with luxurious dinner as chief ritual. [Am. Pop. weekend. The party occurred four days after Ward's release from jail following hs acquittal The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a person who has been charged with a crime. Acquittals in fact take place when a jury finds a verdict of not guilty. on an assault charge. Both men have pleaded not guilty. Ordaz is charged with three counts of attempting to influence jurors along with an allegation The assertion, claim, declaration, or statement of a party to an action, setting out what he or she expects to prove. If the allegations in a plaintiff's complaint are insufficient to establish that the person's legal rights have been violated, the defendant can make a that he did so on behalf of or to benefit a street gang. If convicted, Ordaz faces up to eight years and four months in prison. He is scheduled to be arraigned today. The jurors' encounter with Ordaz on Sept. 8 was described in a note given to the trial judge, Foltz said. ``The note indicated that as they were entering the courtroom, I believe they were coming back from lunch, they were approached by two people,'' Foltz said. ``One was a lady, who made some general statement about them being fair, and then the defendant who told them to vote not guilty.'' Ordaz was arrested at the courthouse after jurors gave a description of the person, Foltz said. ``When the jurors went into the courtroom, Ordaz and the woman were not there. They described a male, who was tracked down and identified,'' Foltz said. Foltz said Ordaz has a criminal record, and Sheriff's Department records indicate he was on probation. The three jurors remain on the trial panel. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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