ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Monroe County District Attorney’s Office is considering its options after a county judge set aside the guilty verdict for a man charged with three counts of second degree murder.
A jury found Jalen Everett guilty last month.
He is accused of taking part in the mass shooting on Genesee Street in August 2015.
Raekwon Manigault, Jonah Barley and Johnny Johnson died following the shooting, which happened not long after a basketball game let out at the nearby Boys and Girls Club.
On Thursday, Everett’s attorney confirmed Monroe County Court Judge Douglass Randall had set aside the guilty verdict based on events that allegedly occurred during jury deliberations.
According to court paperwork, a juror discussed the trial of another suspect and other evidence that had been ruled inadmissible. The paperwork also shows the juror said, “I know what these people are like and they all want to kill people.”
Like the victim’s families involved in this case, Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said she's disappointed and disagrees wholeheartedly with Judge Randall’s decision.
Now that a gag order about the decision has been lifted, Doorley said her office is doing its own investigation.
“We were able to go out and at least speak to all the jurors who sat on the jury and rendered the verdict,” Doorley said. “I’m confident by what they said that there was no racial issue or racial bias that entered into the deliberations. More importantly each one of them said it was in fact their verdict and that verdict was based solely on what they heard in the courtroom.”
She said they have several options to consider moving forward.
“We can make a motion in front of Judge Randall to have him reconsider his decision or we can go right to the appellate division,” Doorley said. “So at this point we’re, as an office, thinking about what our best options would be.”
If neither of these options goes through, she said there would be a retrial. Doorley said the next court date is set for December 19 and by then she believes her office will know which way they are proceeding forward.