Jury issues bring unease to trial of men accused of killing Philly officer Richard Mendez
Two jurors have been removed as deliberations stretched through a third day.
As jury deliberations stretched through a third day, a conclusion in the trial of two men accused of killing Philadelphia Police Officer Richard Mendez was delayed Friday after a juror had to be replaced.
It was the second time a juror was removed.
The issues brought unease to a courtroom full of Mendez’s family, friends, and law enforcement colleagues who had gathered during the nearly two-week-long trial with hopes of justice for Mendez, who was shot and killed at the airport in October 2023 while interrupting an attempted car theft.
Yobranny Martinez-Fernandez, 20, and Hendrick Pena-Fernandez, 23, face life in prison without parole if they are convicted of first- and second-degree murder, respectively, in addition to attempted murder, robbery and a slew of related charges.
Last week a jury sat through prosecutors’ presentation of evidence, which included recovered DNA and cell phone tower data as well as testimony from a man who participated in the theft and identified his former accomplices before a crowded courtroom.
Defense attorneys did not put any witnesses on the stand, rebuffing prosecutors during opening and closing arguments.
But on Wednesday, about an hour after Common Pleas Judge Giovanni O. Campbell sent the jury to deliberate, confusion began to seep into the trial.
A juror suffered a medical emergency and was removed from court on a stretcher. Campbell ordered that he be replaced by an alternate juror and that deliberations begin anew.
On Thursday, jurors came back to the judge with a handful of questions, asking to see copies of DNA evidence, photographs from the scene, and the outfits Mendez and his partner wore that evening.
They also wanted to see the letters exchanged between prosecutors and their star witness, who had pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge days before the trial got underway.
As the day wore on, Campbell brought jurors back into the courtroom. There would be no verdict, however.
For unknown reasons, the judge instead suggested that the jury operate with “courtesy and respect,” and that they approach deliberations with an “open mind.”
“We recognize it’s not easy,” Campbell said of the process.
Deliberations resumed Friday morning; courtroom observers would not see the jury until Campbell called them back into court around 4 p.m.
Campbell, without citing a reason, said a second juror had been removed. He told the court “it had nothing to do with her views on the case.”
And again, the jury was told to restart deliberations from the beginning.
Campbell dismissed the jury at 5:40 p.m. and told them to return on Monday.