By Jim Haley
Herald Writer
EVERETT — A juror in a Granite Falls murder trial suffered chest pains in the jury room Tuesday afternoon and was taken to a hospital for examination.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge George Bowden said Tuesday he doesn’t know what that will mean for the trial of Kenneth Charles Jensen, 58.
Jensen underwent a weeklong trial on a charge of second-degree murder in the Aug. 8 shooting death of a neighbor, Frank Martin, 40. Jensen claims self-defense.
The judge said he will check with medical personnel and the jury to see whether the man will be able to continue deliberations. The preferred course would be to continue deliberations with the same panel that has been deciding the case for two days, if the stricken man can rejoin it.
If not, he and the attorneys involved in the case will have to make some decisions.
They could call in an alternate juror, who was sent home at the end of the testimony on Friday. Otherwise, the attorneys could decide to continue with just 11 jurors, if Jensen agrees.
The third option would be to declare a mistrial, Bowden said.
The remaining 11 jurors were sent home a little early Tuesday after Everett Fire Department paramedics went to the fifth floor of the county courthouse building where jurors were deliberating behind closed doors.
The panel has been mulling the case since Monday morning, and it has not indicated it has reached a unanimous decision.
Bowden said he’s asked the jurors to return at 9 a.m. today to continue deliberations.
In a criminal case, all the jurors must agree on a verdict.
A single gunshot that rang out Aug. 8 in the street in front of Frank’s home ended a years-long feud between Frank and Jensen.
On that afternoon, Jensen rode his bicycle by the Frank home to visit a next-door neighbor, and the two exchanged insults. When Jensen rode back, Frank grabbed the handlebars of his bicycle and began shaking it, according to witnesses.
Jensen carried a .357 Magnum pistol in a pouch slung around his shoulder. He reached into the pouch and fired once, hitting Frank in the chest. Then he rode about 1 1/2blocks to the Granite Falls Police Station where he turned himself in and handed over the weapon.
Jensen testified he was terrified for his life during the confrontation.
You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447
or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.
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