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Kenyatta Johnson jury ends first day of deliberations without a verdict

The Philadelphia City Council member and his wife, Dawn Chavous, are accused of accepting nearly $67,000 in bribes between 2013 and 2014. Both have denied the allegations.

City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson and his wife, Dawn Chavous, leave the federal courthouse in Center City on Sept. 28, at the end of the first day of their retrial on federal bribery charges.
City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson and his wife, Dawn Chavous, leave the federal courthouse in Center City on Sept. 28, at the end of the first day of their retrial on federal bribery charges.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

The jurors weighing the fate of Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson and his wife, Dawn Chavous, ended their first day of deliberations Thursday without reaching a verdict.

The panel spent just over five hours cloistered in a room at the federal courthouse, sending occasional notes asking to see exhibits including several emails and a draft resolution for a zoning ordinance that had been submitted as evidence at trial.

» READ MORE: Kenyatta Johnson and Dawn Chavous bribery retrial: What you need to know

While they held their discussions, Johnson, Chavous, and their two codefendants — former nonprofit executives Rahim Islam and Shahied Dawan — milled about the courthouse hallways greeting the sizable number of supporters who showed up to accompany them during the wait.

During Johnson and Chavous’ first trial in April, jurors deliberated for 25 hours over four days before finally telling the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked, prompting U.S. District Judge Gerald A. McHugh to declare a mistrial.

Jurors in the retrial are expected to resume their discussions Friday morning.

Johnson, a three-term Democrat from Point Breeze, is accused of accepting roughly $67,000 in bribes from Islam and Dawan — former executives at Universal Companies, the housing and charter school nonprofit founded by Philadelphia native and legendary music producer Kenny Gamble. Prosecutors say they funneled the payoff to him through a sham consulting contract the organization signed with Chavous, a noted charter school advocate, in 2013.

All four defendants have denied the allegations.