'El Chapo' jurors wrap up first week of deliberations without reaching verdict
NEW YORK _ The Brooklyn jury tasked with deciding whether to convict Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman capped off one week of deliberations seemingly far from reaching a verdict.
Guzman, who sported a navy blue suit, striped blue tie and a light blue shirt to his trial Monday at federal court in Brooklyn, listened intently as an interpreter translated U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan's reading of the latest round of questions presented by the jury.
"Does a violation have to be proven or not proven unanimously?" a note sent out at approximately 3 p.m. read.
The top count against Guzman _ leading a continuing criminal enterprise, or CCE _ contains 27 violations that include murder conspiracy and charges related to international distribution of cocaine, heroin and marijuana.
To find Guzman guilty of CCE, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole, jurors must unanimously find him guilty of at least three violations included in the count.
Monday's notes suggested the jury could be having difficulty agreeing on some of the top charges listed in the lengthy verdict sheet.
Specifically, jurors also asked Monday to hear testimony from former DEA Agent Scott Schoonover, who took the stand in early December to testify about four cocaine shipments seized between 2004 and 2008.
The court also provided jurors with testimony from U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Clifton Harrison, who testified about three of the same cocaine seizures during the trial.
_New York Daily News
