State Courts

RICO jury heads into Day 5 of deliberations on Monday

By Ron Sylvester

Jurors in the Crips trial finished their fourth day of deliberations without reaching a verdict Friday. They’ll return Monday to continue to sort out four weeks of testimony against six defendants accused of running organized crime through the street gang in Wichita.

The verdict form they have to fill out covers more than 30 criminal counts. Jurors were told in lengthy legal instructions that they have to consider each count separately. That includes the complex Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, known as RICO, that serves as the basis for the charges.

The jury in a similar RICO trial in November took five days to reach its verdict. That case had three defendants. This trial has six men charged with racketeering and other crimes.

Full post as published by What the Judge Ate for Breakfast on April 03, 2009 (boomark / email).