HAGATNA, Guam (AP) - Two men and a woman convicted of running a meth ring in Guam are asking for a new trial because of allegations jurors ignored instructions not to discuss the case.
In the motion unsealed this month, a defense attorney alleges several jurors spoke about the case, including posting details about the trial on Facebook.
After a four-month trial, jurors found Rudy Sablan, Maria Edrosa and Mateo Sardoma guilty in October of running a ring that smuggled crystal meth into Guam.
The court filing includes screen-shots of a juror’s Facebook page and transcripts of phone calls another juror made with a woman in the same detention center as Edrosa, the Pacific Daily News (https://ow.ly/tZtP9) reported.
Attorney Louie Yanza filed the motion for a new trial on behalf of Sablan in November. It alleges jurors “blatantly ignored” instructions not to discuss the case.
The filing says a juror posted on Facebook comments such as, “Your guilty son LMAO,” and “Why in the world would the District Court of Guam choose me to be a part of jury duty.”
That juror is also accused of not disclosing she had a friend in the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The motion references “extraneous prejudicial information,” saying another juror spoke with the woman in the detention center about the trial and the evidence. The motion quotes the juror as saying, “I don’t think (the) government has (expletive) on them even though I think they’re guilty.” He called the case “shoddy police work.”
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Guam didn’t immediately respond to an after-hours phone message seeking comment by The Associated Press.
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Information from: Pacific Daily News: https://www.guampdn.com
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