A woman accused of trying to bribe a juror in the midst of her trial last week in Boulder was picked up early Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers as she tried to enter Canada.
Boulder County sheriff’s Cmdr. Rick Brough said Darine Chely is being held at the Clinton County Detention Center in northeastern New York.
Last week, an arrest warrant was issued for Chely on charges of bribing a juror, juror tampering and failure to appear for the last day of her trial. Her bail has been set at $575,000, Brough said.
According to an arrest affidavit, Chely, on trial for being in possession of a weapon by a previous offender, placed a note underneath a notebook belonging to alternate juror Eric Acord during a recess April 21. The note said: “Eric, please don’t find me guilty. I will pay $5,000. I am very frightened. Please don’t give this to anyone.”
Acord read it, placed it in his pocket and at the next recess, informed the judge of the note.
Chely has previous arrests on counts of fraud, larceny, assault, contempt of court and perjury. Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
