NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va.-
A man facing robbery charges will receive a new trial after a juror was overheard saying the defendant should be convicted quickly so the jury could go home.
The statement was allegedly made when the 12 jurors were taking a lunch break in Glenn A. Stewart’s trial in Hancock County Circuit Court.
Circuit Judge Martin J. Gaughan declared a mistrial Tuesday after questioning two jurors. One denied making the remark and the other couldn’t verify that the remark was made.
“Someone came in off the street, someone known to the court system, and said he heard one of the jurors say, ‘We have to find this guy guilty in a hurry so that we can get home,'” Gaughan told the Weirton Daily Times. “The obligation to give the guy a fair trial is so strong that this is the best way to handle it.”
Stewart, 21, was being held in jail pending his new trial, which is scheduled for Nov., 30, said a spokeswoman for the county prosecutor’s office.
