Wisconsin: jury deliberating in tire-slashing case
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: The prayers of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, former Acting Mayor Marvin Pratt and a dozen others who clutched their hands in a Milwaukee courtroom went unanswered Thursday.
Their vigil continues this morning as jurors resume deliberating whether the sons of Moore, of Pratt, and three other defendants are guilty of slashing tires to cripple Republican get-out-the-vote efforts on election day 2004.
The trial took eight days, including half a day spent on closing arguments, before jurors got the case midafternoon Thursday. Less than three hours later, the jury went home for the evening, having asked to look at a few cell phone records and police reports, a request that made defense attorneys somewhat nervous.
Assistant District Attorney David Feiss told jurors in his closing argument that those cell phone records were strong evidence that Michael Pratt, 33, and Lavelle Mohammad, 36, had been on the phone with each other on W. Capitol Dr. at about 3:30 a.m., about the time someone cut tires on 25 rented vans. -- JS Online: Jury starts deliberation in tire-slashing case