Judge worries juror is flirting with Michigan kidnapping defendant: report

Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson is scrutinizing the actions of a juror in the third Gretchen Whitmer kidnap trial who may be flirting with 22-year-old defendant Paul Bellar.

"I see her looking directly at your client, and a number of times I've seen smiles coming out of her face. It's enough that it's drawing my attention," Judge Wilson told the Bellar's lawyer, the Detroit Free Pressreported.

"I'm going to be paying close attention. ... I don't know if I'm going to kick her off or not," he explained.

The newspaper reported, "a prosecutor raised the issue during a trial break on Wednesday, telling the judge that not only is the juror flirting with Bellar, but it appears he may be flirting back. They smile and nod at each other, the prosecutor said, adding that Bellar at one point clenched both his fists and shook them in an affirmative way while the juror was looking at him."

Defense attorney Andrew Kirkpatrick denied his client was flirting with the juror.

"I have noticed her kind of looking. He knows. But he's not winking at her. He's not doing anything to encourage her," Kirkpatrick argued. "I don't think that's a basis to get rid of this juror. ... Maybe she likes him — maybe she doesn’t. There's no way of telling what’s in the juror’s mind."

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Defense lawyer Kareem Johnson, who is representing co-defendant Pete Musico, did not want the woman stricken from the jury.

"Simply because a young woman is looking over here — (concluding) it must be some flirtation involvement is just sexist," Johnson said. "She's supposed to look over here."

Read the full report.