Jury in Alabama Gambling Corruption Case Deliberates for 5th Day
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – (Associated Press) - The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial deliberated for a fifth day Monday, with a juror who became ill Sunday returning for the day's talks.
Deliberations were cut short Sunday afternoon when a juror with a known blood pressure problem became ill. A court official said the juror was checked out by a doctor and resumed work Monday morning with the rest of the panel.
The sequestered jury has been deliberating since Thursday in the trial of VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor; state Sen. Harri Anne Smith; former Sens. Larry Means and Jim Preuitt; VictoryLand lobbyist Tom Coker; and Country Crossing casino spokesman Jay Walker. They are accused of buying and selling votes on legislation designed to protect electronic bingo casinos from a state crackdown.
On Monday morning, jurors sent U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson a note saying they couldn't find one of the exhibits for Coker's side, which was mentioned in closing arguments last week. The judge had a court official find the document for the jury. It was a listing of lobbyists that Coker's attorney said he paid to help him with lobbying.
The defense offered it to rebut the prosecution's argument that McGregor paid Coker about $196,000 a year to help pass gambling legislation and that Coker had a financial incentive to help McGregor do whatever necessary to keep his electronic bingo games operating. The defense presented the list to show that Coker paid several others with the money he got from McGregor and that it didn't all end up in his pocket.
Coker is the second of the six defendants listed on the jury's verdict form. Attorneys declined to speculate on whether the jury's question meant the panel still had charges to consider against four defendants.
The jury has been sequestered since closing arguments began Feb. 27.
