A Miami criminal lawyer representing the man convicted of killing a 9 year old Liberty City girl is seeking a new trial. The defense lawyer is claiming that the manslaughter conviction of his client should be set aside because one of the jurors failed to mention that he had previously been a victim of a crime. The defense lawyer requested that Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marisa-Tinkler Mendez grant him permission to speak with the jurors including the alternates. The judge set a hearing for November 10, 2009, to determine whether or not she will grant access to the jurors for questioning.
Earlier this month, a six member jury convicted Damon Darling of manslaughter and aggravated assault for his involvement in the death of Sherdavia Jenkins. Jenkins was the innocent victim caught in the cross-fire between Darling and his co-defendant, Leroy Larose in the courtyard of an apartment building located in Liberty City. Just prior to the commencement of the trial, Larose accepted a plea deal t seven years in prison in exchange for his testimony against Darling. Darling is facing up to 50 years in state prison at his upcoming sentencing hearing.
Darling was initially charged by the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office with second degree murder and attempted murder. A several hours of deliberation the jury returned a verdict of guilty to the lesser included charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault with a firearm. If the judge grants a new trial, Darling will only be facing the lesser charges for which he was convicted. Double jeopardy precludes the state attorneys office from proceeding on the original charges.
The defense lawyer filed a motion for a new trial because a juror inaccurately filled out a juror questionnaire, when he checked "no" to question asking if he had ever been the victim of a crime. Since the trial, an investigation revealed that in 2008, the juror had been the victim the crimes of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, simple battery and criminal mischief, all stemming from a single incident. The motion claims that Darling was prejudiced for not having provided that information during jury selection.
The motion for a new trial also alleges that the same juror and another juror were "lifelong" friends from Homestead, Florida and that they failed to reveal this information to the judge, the defense lawyers and the prosecutors. Both jurors denied any impropriety, saying that the allegations were blown out of proportion had and had nothing to do with the verdicts they rendered.
Convict's Lawyer: Juror Tainted Sherdavia Trial, The Miami Herald, October 27, 2009.
