A Manhattan juror was arrested yesterday after allegedly flouting the law by having an extended conversation with the last person he should have been talking to – the defendant – during a break in deliberations.
José Jimenez, 49, of Inwood, was busted after the defendant ratted the juror out to the judge.
Jimenez denies ever talking to the defendant, an accused drug dealer named Jorge Cruz.
But prosecutors say the chat between the two was caught on video from the deli where it took place.
The tape clearly shows the juror writing something down on paper he then hands the defendant, prosecutors say.
The defendant promptly turned the paper over to his lawyer, who showed it to the judge; it contained the juror’s cellphone number, according to prosecutors.
Jimenez is charged with perjury for allegedly lying to the judge by denying the conversation happened. He faces up to seven years in prison.
He’s the third Manhattan juror this year to scuttle – or at least threaten to scuttle – a trial by his alleged misbehavior.
In April, the Tyco embezzlement trial ended in a mistrial after a juror attracted media attention by appearing to flash an OK signal to the defense.
Weeks later, a juror on a petit-larceny case admitted in court to drinking vodka during deliberations.