Two men are accused of jury tampering in a Philadelphia murder trial, a rare charge in city court
One suspect is in custody after prosecutors accused the men of telling jurors the defendant was innocent. The jury still convicted him.
Prosecutors have charged two men with jury tampering for attempting to influence the outcome of a murder trial in early April, authorities said.
Gregory Murray and Messiah Kennedy approached jurors in the hallway outside the courtroom and told them to return a verdict of “not guilty” in the trial of Dwayne Jones, sources close to the investigation said.
Jurors did not heed that advice. They found Jones guilty of murder and related crimes for shooting his girlfriend’s neighbor as she intervened in a domestic dispute the couple were having in 2023.
Murray, 41, of New Castle, Del., was arrested on Saturday in Philadelphia and charged with obstruction of the law and aggravated jury tampering.
He is being represented by the Defender Association of Philadelphia. A spokesperson for the defender’s office declined to comment.
Police continue to search for Kennedy, 34, of Philadelphia.
Jury tampering cases are uncommon in Philadelphia. Only two other people have been charged with the crime in the city since 2017, according to an Inquirer analysis of court records.
So some police officers were surprised when a patrol alert went out earlier this month saying detectives were seeking to arrest Murray and Kennedy for that crime.
The two men were at the courthouse on April 10 for probation violation hearings as Jones’ murder trial was underway, according to a source who asked not to be identified to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Prosecutors do not believe that Murray or Kennedy knew Jones or the details of his case. Still, the source said, the men told jurors Jones was innocent as they were led back into Common Pleas Court Judge Roxanne E. Covington’s courtroom. And while it’s possible that their comments may have been a joke, the source said, the conduct was serious.
After the jury foreperson told Covington about the comments, the source said, the judge spoke with the group to assure that their deliberations would not be affected by what they had heard. They reached a guilty verdict that same day, court records show.
Jones’ attorney, Ellis Palividas, said Jones did not know Murray or Kennedy.
Although the men’s remarks did not sway the jury, their actions interfered with the judicial process and constituted a serious crime, authorities said.
“The jury doesn’t know who these people are,” said Assistant District Attorney Jeff Hojnowski of the homicide unit. “It could have come out a different way — a murderer could have walked.”
Aggravated jury tampering carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison in Pennsylvania and $25,000 in fines.
Given the severity of the charges, Hojnowski said of the case: “Obviously we’re gonna take it pretty seriously.”
Staff news developer Chris A. Williams contributed to this article.
