Sick juror pauses deliberations for teen squeegee worker murder trial
BALTIMORE -- A sick juror put deliberations in the murder trial of a teenage squeegee worker on hold Wednesday.
Juror Number 5 repeatedly called the court Wednesday morning to say she was vomiting and suffering flu-like symptoms.
The family of victim Timothy Reynolds told WJZ through their attorney they remain hopeful there will be a verdict in the closely-watched case.
"They've waited a long time for justice. They can wait a little longer. They're going to respect the process and be patient," said Thiru Vignarajah, who represents the Reynolds family.
Lawyers representing the 16-year-old defendant say they, too, are optimistic.
"She didn't make it here today. Whether she has a doctor's note today or not, today is gone. It's over with. If she can come here tomorrow at 9 am and deliberate, let's get it going. Let's get this case resolved," said defense attorney J. Wyndal Gordon.
Maryland law permits the case to be decided by just 11 jurors, but the defense has objected to that proposal.
Judge Jennifer Schiffer said the juror must present a doctor's note if she is still sick tomorrow.
She told attorneys, "This has obviously been a passionately tried case. …We've used a great many resources. At this point, I'm going to try for one more day."
Maryland law permits the case to be decided by just 11 jurors, but the defense has objected to that proposal.
Judge Jennifer Schiffer said the juror must present a doctor's note if she is still sick tomorrow. She told attorneys, "This has obviously been a passionately tried case. …We've used a great many resources. At this point, I'm going to try for one more day."
Judge Schiffer also addressed jurors directly, "We're going to do everything in our power to keep this process running. Please take care of yourselves and come back to us tomorrow."
Gordon said outside court, "We wish this juror the best. In fact, whatever is ailing her, we hope that she has a speedy recovery."
Vignarajah noted, "When a juror is ill, you want to make sure that they have a chance to be better. You want them to be able to fully concentrate and do their job."
WJZ is not naming the defendant because of his age. The jury must decide whether he shot and killed Reynolds in July of last year near the Inner Harbor. If they find he did, his attorneys say it is self-defense because Reynolds confronted squeegee workers with a bat.
Prosecutors believe it was premeditated murder because the teen concealed his face after retrieving a gun and fired at Reynolds as he was walking away.
So far, jurors have deliberated for roughly 10 hours across three days.
The defense rejected a proposal to allow for any virtual deliberations.
If the case ends up being a mistrial, defense attorney Warren Brown does not expect the state to drop the charges.
"The state can do what they want. They can re-prosecute the case or they can dismiss the case. I suspect they will continue to prosecute the case and that will be sometime next year," Brown said.
Deliberations are scheduled to resume Thursday morning.
A Maryland Circuit Court judge denied the defense's request for a mistrial Wednesday in the murder case of a teenage squeegee worker after a juror didn't show up.
On what would have been the third day of deliberation, juror number five reportedly did not report for duty, saying she was sick and vomiting.
When the defense asked for a mistrial, the Judge Jennifer Schiffer refused and said she would call juror and say she needs to come in tomorrow or get a doctor's note excusing her.
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren reports the judge said the court has devoted a lot of resources to high-profile case and she will give it one more shot tomorrow.
On Tuesday, jurors in the case sent a note to the judge that they are having trouble coming to a unanimous verdict and asked what would happen if the case ended in a mistrial.
The judge gave them what is known as an Allen Charge in response, essentially urging them to keep working to reach a unanimous verdict.
The jury spent roughly three hours deliberating on Monday following closing arguments.
The case involves the July 2022 death of Timothy Reynolds near the Inner Harbor.
On July 7, 2022, Reynolds had some sort of encounter with the defendant, stopped his Volkswagen amid the afternoon traffic on Light Street, got out a bat, and walked across traffic to confront squeegee workers.
He was shot five times that day with the bullets striking him three times in the back.
The defendant was 14 at the time of the killing. His lawyers have claimed self-defense. He is 16 years old today. WJZ is not naming him because of his age.
The teen never took the stand in his own defense, but during the trial, his lawyers blamed Reynolds for confronting him with a bat. Additionally, they tried to raise doubts that the teen was even the shooter.
The prosecution contends that Reynolds was walking away when he was shot, and the defendant purposely concealed his identity with a mask before pulling the trigger.
Jurors can consider first-degree, or premeditated murder. They can also consider the lesser second-degree murder, which requires no premeditation.
The jury can consider voluntary manslaughter if they believe the defendant was "acting in self-defense or defense of others."
