Talker says convict me and I'll shot myself and judge declares mistrial
The insurance-fraud trial of former radio talk-show host Mike Webb ended in a mistrial Thursday after a judge determined the jury had been tainted by seeing Webb handcuffed by police following an outburst outside the courthouse a day earlier.
"The taint is too great; it does not afford Mr. Webb a fair and impartial trial. I do not have any choice," King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector told jurors Thursday after some of them testified that they witnessed or heard about the incident before they were to begin deliberating.
According to a Seattle Police Department report, police found Webb acting "irrational and irate" on James Street and Second Avenue after testimony in his trial concluded just before 1 p.m. Wednesday. A woman told police that Webb had threatened to kill himself if found guilty and that he had access to a gun in his house, the report stated.
When an officer contacted Webb on the street and asked if he would allow police to retrieve the gun from his home, Webb said no, according to the report.
Webb was not arrested, but he was handcuffed and taken to Harborview Medical Center for a mental-health evaluation, according to Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
No comments:
Post a Comment