GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A jury spent Tuesday in its second full day of deliberations in the case of four men accused of plotting to kidnap the governor without reaching a verdict.
Brandon Caserta, Barry Croft Jr., Adam Fox and Daniel Harris all face federal charges in for allegedly plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Tuesday’s work brought the total time of deliberation to about 16 hours so far.
Fox’s attorney Christopher Gibbons said the long deliberations could be a hopeful sign for the defense.
“I think that they have not come back with a verdict against us at this point is a good thing,” Gibbons said, though he added, “We’ll see what happens. There’s still a lot left to be played in the game.”
But it’s worth noting the jurors have quite a bit to go through, including 400 prosecution evidence exhibits.
On Tuesday morning, jurors asked if they could read transcripts of testimony from the weekslong trial, during which about three dozen witnesses took the stand. The judge told them that none of it has been transcribed. His court reporter figured it would amount to about 3,400 pages. Even if it had been printed, the judge said jurors would have to rely on their memories and their notes because transcripts don’t include the nuances of the spoken word.
Defense attorneys have argued the men were entrapped by the FBI and its informants, while prosecutors have argued they were not and that the men were predisposed to commit the kidnapping.
Deliberations will continue Wednesday.
If the men are convicted, they could spend the rest of their lives in federal prison.
—News 8’s Ken Kolker contributed to this report.