The jury in a Wollongong drug trial has been discharged over an administrative bungle which saw a single juror handed different information about the case.
A juror in the trial of Brownsville man Stephen Alan Fenn received a different set of papers to the others as the trial got underway on Monday, October 9.
With evidence in chief poised to begin on Tuesday morning, Judge Huw Baker instead received a note from the jury, alerting the court to the anomaly.
The court heard the juror had discussed the different information with their fellow jurors.
"Having discussed it with the whole jury, the whole jury should discharged," the judge found.
Fenn is on trial in Wollongong District Court on one charge of attempting to possess a marketable quantity of an unlawfully imported drug, between October 3 and October 13 in 2021.
In his opening statement, Crown prosecutor David Jordan told the 12-person jury that on October 3, 2021, Australian Border Force intercepted a package addressed to Fenn's Brownsville address. The package was later found to contain chocolates, crisps and about 500 grams of cocaine.
A new jury is expected to be empanelled when the matter returns to court tomorrow, Wednesday October 11.
Angela Thompson
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
