A second juror has been dismissed from the 12-person panel weighing the racketeering and theft charges against the DeKalb County School District’s former chief operating officer and her ex-husband.
The dismissal came after the jury sent a strongly worded note to the judge questioning the juror’s impartiality. It means the jury will have to restart deliberations.
The juror was an alternate added to the panel Monday morning because one of the original jury members had a medical emergency. There are two alternates left; they are kept separate from the jury during deliberations.
Pat Reid and Tony Pope are accused of manipulating the bidding process for school construction contracts so that Pope could get more than $1.4 million that he should not have received. A theft charge against Reid alleges that she bought her county-issued Ford Explorer for one-third its value. Another theft charge accuses the once-married couple of billing the district for $800 for an attorney who advised Pope when he was called to give a deposition in a still-pending civil suit.
The newest juror was replaced Tuesday afternoon after the judge got a note from the jury.
“There are growing concerns amongst the jurors regarding the personal relationship (one juror) had with C.D. Moody,” the note said, referring to a construction contractor that figures in the charges against Reid and Pope. “We wanted to make you aware so we are not responsible for any negative consequences.”
With another new member, the panel was told to start its deliberations from the beginning.
“You don’t just pick up where you left off,” DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Becker said. “You need to begin again so that (new) jurors’ deliberations are part of the process.”
It was only after the jury was sent back to the jury room that the removed juror was questioned about her connection to builder David Moody, who was identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment against Reid and Pope. The substitute juror had revealed a tie to Moody during jury selection.
The juror once worked at a bank where Moody served on the board. She told the judge she never met him.
The juror said she told others about it during jury selection “in the context of I thought I would get out of jury duty given that C.D. Moody was on the board of a company I once worked for.”
“Once I was seated,” she said, “I didn’t make any mention of Moody.”
Attorneys for Reid and Pope asked for mistrials before the juror was removed and again after she was removed. Their requests were denied.
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