SAN BERNARDINO – A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the trial of a former sheriff’s deputy who is accused of attempted extortion.
The decision came after jurors heard testimony that was ruled inadmissable.
Superior Court Judge Brian McCarville ruled that the jury should not have heard witness testimony about the sheriff’s internal administrative investigation involving 31-year-old former Deputy John Laurent.
“That is an inappropriate area for a jury to have heard about in a criminal proceeding,” McCarville told jurors after announcing the mistrial in San Bernardino Superior Court.
The testimony came through no fault of prosecutors, the defense or the witness, the judge said.
McCarville added that the ruling was necessary to ensure the integrity of the trial.
Lawyers will begin choosing a new jury today. Testimony could start Thursday.
Laurent faces one felony count of attempted extortion stemming from several contacts he had with San Manuel tribal member and parolee Ray Green in 2007 and 2008, say prosecutors.
The defendant has denied the charge.
Defense lawyer Michael Schwartz says his client was trying to put together a case involving narcotics and bribery against Green, who is a “high patrol” parolee with drug-use problems, that he hoped could get him assigned to the sheriff’s narcotics unit.
Laurent is a former Marine who served in Iraq, said Schwartz, who has represented former deputies Ivory Webb and Matthew Linderman in other court cases.
The defense made a motion for the mistrial as the first witness in the case, a sheriff’s detective, began an exchange with prosecutor William Lee about the existence of two investigations in the case: a criminal one and an administrative one.
The defense said it was concerned the jury could be prejudiced after learning of the internal investigation and hearing that Laurent was no longer a deputy.
Lee argued for the trial to continue, saying that he didn’t think the testimony was enough to prejudice the jury.
