GREENSBURG, Pa. — The office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro will retry Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held on the same charges that went to a jury last week.
A mistrial was declared in the public corruption trial after a bizarre scene played out Friday afternoon when, moments after jurors found Held guilty, a juror told the judge he disagreed with the verdict.
#BREAKING —> AG’s Office confirms they will retry Sheriff Jon Held on the same charges that went to a jury last week, it was declared a mistrial on Friday — after juror questions verdict #WPXI https://t.co/4h7yI2XPxR
— Melanie Marsalko (@WPXIMelanie) December 10, 2018
The jury foreman handed a slip to the judge, who read the jury's findings as a unanimous guilty verdict on two counts of theft and one count of conflict of interest. The judge then polled jurors individually to ensure they agreed with the verdict, and one of them answered that he did not.
The judge called attorneys up to the bench, then ordered the jury to resume deliberations. Held's attorney, Ryan Tutera, told Channel 11's Rick Earle that he thought the judge should have declared a mistrial in the case, in which Held was accused of ordering employees to do work for his re-election campaign on county time.
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The judge later called the jury back after about a half-hour and declared a mistrial.
"We know we have a strong case and we intend to retry the sheriff. Period,” Shapiro said.
Held’s defense attorney told Channel 11 he’s not surprised prosecutors want to retry and says he and the sheriff will take it on again.
There’s no time table right now as to when that could be.
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