Defense Counsel Cites Alleged Drunk Juror As Reason for New Trial in 2014 Black Guerilla Gang Conviction.
Having served less than a decade of his life sentence, 28-year-old Capone Chase joined his defense counsel over Zoom on Dec. 6 to argue his trial counsel’s ineffectiveness in addressing a suspected drunk juror among other red flags during his trial eight years ago.
Capone, who was a member of the Black Guerilla Family gang, was convicted of fatally shooting 21-year-old Ramon Rodriguez in broad daylight on July 13, 2013, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office previously reported. He was later found guilty of first-degree murder, armed robbery, assault, and other firearms charges in October 2014 and sentenced to life plus 50 years the following March.
During a virtual post-conviction hearing on Tuesday, defense attorney Edward Kenney questioned Chase’s trial attorney, Phillip Levin, about a note from a juror that read, “We believe that [this juror] may have a drinking problem.” The note—received on Oct. 3, 2014—came after the juror made a joke about gambling on the Baltimore Ravens-Indianapolis Colts football game that coming Sunday.
The joke was told after the jury had listened to a 911 call as part of the evidence, Kenney said.
“I think it’s certainly reasonably possible that there was a drunk juror on the jury—a juror that had no business deciding Mr. Chase’s fate,” Kenney told Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie Hong.
During Kenney’s questioning, Levin said he has always been very mindful of jurors before, during, and after cases and did not see anything that warranted concern regarding a potentially intoxicated juror.
“I remember keeping an eye on all of the jurors,” Levin said. “I didn’t remember anybody really falling asleep at all or stumbling.”
The defendant later informed the court that he wasn’t aware the note was discussed among counsel and said he would’ve spoken with Levin had he noticed something questionable in the jury selection process.
Additional claims against trial counsel included how a 911 call was played for the jury, Chase’s right to request a hearing within five years of his conviction that was unfulfilled, and trial counsel allegedly misadvising Chase of a three-judge panel’s right to increase a defendant’s sentence.
“I don’t think there’s been any evidence presented to this court that Mr. Levin did not act as a reasonable attorney would, given the circumstances,” said the prosecutor. “[The note] could mean that [the juror] told stories every morning about how drunk he got the night before. It does not mean he was ever drunk in court, and that affected his ability to perceive the evidence or participate in the deliberations.”
Judge Hong concluded the hearing by telling counsel that she would review the necessary documentation and make a ruling sometime in January 2023.