Juror who made racism claims in murder trial ordered to appear in court

Jimmie McNear’s defense attorneys have been granted permission to interview a juror who claimed that racism played a role during deliberations for McNear’s double-murder trial.

On Nov. 9, a jury found McNear guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter and armed burglary for the deaths of Kantral Brooks and Esther Deneus.

Brooks and his live-in girlfriend Deneus were shot dead during an armed robbery of the home they shared in the 3900 block of Southern Parkway in Bradenton. McNear, Trey Nonnombre and Terez Jones have each since been convicted in the case.

In a letter to presiding Circuit Judge Diana Moreland, a juror claimed that there was no way a black man could have gotten a fair trial based on racism demonstrated by her fellow jurors. While the juror didn’t question the involvement of McNear, who is black, the juror was concerned racism played a role in the process.

A second juror wrote a letter to Moreland, in the wake of the Bradenton Herald’s reporting, to dispute the claims of racism.

Both sides argued the issue in court earlier this month and in a four-page order dated Dec. 11, Moreland ruled the defense had “sufficiently alleged a matter of potential racial bias extrinsic to the verdict, if true, may have fundamentally prejudiced the jury in this particular matter.”

The interview is set to take place during a hearing at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 3, the order states. The defense and the State Attorney’s Office will each have 20 minutes to ask the juror questions and present their arguments to the court.

The juror has been ordered to appear for the hearing.

Moreland cited case law based on the Florida Supreme Court’s decision in Powell vs. Allstate Insurance Co., which identified special circumstances when there are claims of racial, ethnic, religious or gender bias in which the court must interfere to ensure that a defendant received equal treatment.

Based on Powell, McNear could get a new trial if the court finds that the racism claims are true.

The hearing has been scheduled during the time that had been reserved for McNear’s sentencing. The sentencing hearing has been canceled.

McNear faces between 25 years and life in prison.

This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Juror who made racism claims in murder trial ordered to appear in court."