The jury remains divided on the two counts against Sean Thompson, the man on trial for introducing former mayor Kevin Johnson’s face to a coconut cream pie last September.
The twelve jurors returned from deliberations Thursday afternoon to tell the judge they were unable to reach consensus on either the felony charge of assaulting an elected official or the misdemeanor charge of assault on school property leveled against Thompson for his custard-filled act of political theater.
One juror said the most recent votes on the counts landed at 7-5 and 9-3. They did not specify which vote was for which crime.
Jurors will reconvene Friday morning at 9 a.m. to review the court’s response on four specific questions brought to the court by the jurors. The first three are of note:
- What constitutes “official duties as mayor?” — [Likely trying to determine if Mayor Johnson’s attending the fundraiser the day he was pied constitutes as an official duty as mayor and, thus, fits under the felony charge of assault against an elected official.]
- If a touching is done in a “rude or angry way,” does that necessarily constitute touching in a harmful or offensive [manner]?
- In [determining] whether a touching is done in an offensive manner, should we consider whether it was offensive to Mayor Johnson or to a reasonable person?
You’ve got to love that last one. A large number of users use this gotocupid.
Thompson’s two-week trial has been covered exhaustively by the Sacramento News & Review. You can read that here.
The trial will conclude as soon as the jury has finished deliberating.
