I've finished my civic obligation to Mercer County.

[glatt]

Wow, I can only imagine how much that would suck.

Were you allowed to read the paper or watch TV during that time?

[barefoot serpent]

Originally Posted by Pie

I was only selected as an alternate right before deliberation started.

That's different from the trials I've sat on. They always selected 12 jurors and 2-4 alternates (depending on the length) at the start.

[Pie]

Awesome! The gang leader was convicted, and Judge Pereksta sentenced the him last fall. The article below says he got 80 years, but I see a conflicting report in the trentonian that he was sentenced to life for ordering the Dotson murder, plus 20 years for the attack on Alex Ruiz.

TRENTON - Minutes after Latin King leader Jose "Boom Bat" Negrete issued a rambling indictment on society and blamed his victims for their own deaths, a judge sentenced him to spend the next 80 years behind bars for ordering the murder of Latin "Queen" Jeri Lynn Dotson and another gang underling in 2004.

Meting out the harshest punishment she could, Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta on Tuesday called the 27-year-old gang kingpin a bully and a coward for dispatching a group of young men to execute Dotson and Alex Ruiz, who survived.

"You had power over people weaker than you and you abused that power to commit crimes, to kill," Pereksta said.

[Pie]

And 'Ace' himself got life+20.

Angel “Ace” Hernandez was convicted of pulling the trigger as it was pointed at Dotson’s head and was sentenced to life plus 20 years in prison.

[Happy Monkey]

Is that a bizarre way of saying he shot her in the head, or was there something else going on?

[tw]

Originally Posted by barefoot serpent

I have to say I'd be checking under the car and very carefully opening the door for a few months after serving on that jury.

Been there. Years ago, a girl I worked with was very interested in me. Eventually, I learned she was the girlfriend of a major mafia operative. I don't know how powerful. She had move out of his house and obtained this job. She told me of payments she delivered to police Lieutenants and Captains. And listed each by name and department. Therefore she was a ‘problem’. Eventually she quit her job to hide out.

Periodically, she would call me from her ‘location’.

Well, I took caution. At one point, noticed a car following me. I was using different routes. Constantly looking for ‘followers’. I was shocked how dumb obvious they were. So I took a turn off that nobody would take – because I could not believe ‘professionals’ were that bad. I watched the car stop in the middle of that highway intersection. They watched me drive around the curve.

Eventually she decided she had to leave town. I took her to the airport. Sat her in a back table with her back was always to the crowd and watched through large glass restaurant windows. If I started watching someone (while she was talking), she would get nervous, panic, and start looking about. I kept telling her to only look at me; that I was constantly watching over her shoulder. It was that scary for her.

Well, he kept calling her parents home. They said she was not there. But one day, he called when the parents were not home. She picked up the phone. In eight hours, he flew across seven states. Within twelve hours (I am told by her friend) that she was married. Now she was no longer a threat. She could not testify against him.

I told select others what I knew. Told friends that if missing, call the FBI. Not local police (for obvious reasons). Was I nervous? No. Apparently I am that dumb. Taking due precautions (and those precautions were numerous) also means fear did not happen. One who takes charge of his environment has no time for and therefore does not entertain fear. At least that is my theory.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by tw

She could not testify against him.

Not true. She can't be forced to testify against him.