Lodi Case Juror Alleges Bullying

SACRAMENTO —  Federal prosecutors expressed confidence Friday that the unanimous conviction of a 23-year-old Lodi man on terrorism charges would stand despite a juror’s contention that she was bullied into a guilty verdict by other jurors.

“It is a long-settled principle of law that second thoughts about a verdict by a juror are not enough to overturn that verdict,” said McGregor Scott, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California. “We will vigorously litigate this issue at the appropriate time in the courtroom. We are confident that we will prevail.”

Arcelia Lopez, a 44-year-old school nurse and juror in the terrorism case against Hamid Hayat, said in an affidavit filed in federal court here late Thursday that she “never once throughout the deliberation process and the reading of the verdict believed Hamid Hayat to be guilty.”

Based on the affidavit, defense attorney Wazhma Mojaddidi filed a motion for a new trial. “The law says that if jurors use anything extraneous outside the courtroom, it can be the grounds for a new trial,” Mojaddidi said.

Lopez said that some jurors read newspapers, discussed the statements made to the press by a juror who had been excused earlier in the case and brought written materials into the deliberation room. One juror, she said, repeatedly gestured as though he were placing a noose around his neck when referring to Hayat.

After six days of deliberation, Lopez was the lone holdout for acquittal. But she said pressure from other jurors intensified, with one woman blaming Lopez for creating the woman’s stress and health problems, making her eat and drink too much.

On April 21, jury foreman Joe Cote, a 64-year-old retired salesman from Folsom, sent a note to U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell complaining about an unnamed juror. “We are at an impasse with a juror who does not seem to understand the deliberation process,” Cote wrote. Burrell told the jury to continue deliberating.

“At this point I was under so much stress and pressure that I decided to change my vote,” Lopez said in the affidavit obtained by James Wedick, the defense’s chief investigator and longtime FBI agent.

Also Friday, Burrell ruled that Umer Hayat, 48, a Lodi ice cream truck driver and Hamid Hayat’s father, could be released on a reduced bail after the jury in his case could not reach a verdict, leading to a mistrial.

Umer Hayat was charged with two counts of lying to the FBI about his son’s participation in a terrorism training camp in Pakistan. Burrell ordered bail reduced from $1.2 million to $390,000, secured by Hayat family property in Lodi.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Robert Tice-Raskin opposed the bail reduction, arguing that his son’s conviction might give Umer Hayat more incentive to flee with his family. Defense attorneys said Umer Hayat can expect to be freed Monday or Tuesday.

The judge ordered that Umer Hayat remain at home unless he has a medical emergency. A status hearing on whether the government will file for a new trial is set for Friday.

Times staff writer Eric Bailey contributed to this report.