The jury in the trial of four men accused of conspiring to bomb Riverdale synagogues and shoot down military aircraft were sent home Friday without reaching a verdict. Judge Colleen McMahon instructed the panel to return to 500 Pearl St. this morning to resume deliberations on the fate of James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen.
The jury had struggled since Wednesday to decide whether to convict the four men of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and other charges or accept their defense they were entrapped by an FBI informant. It has sent several notes to the judge, asking for guidance, including, “Can we have an example regarding predisposition where there is inducement but not persuasion, or are they the same?” In general, entrapment can be accepted as a defense only when government agents induce a defendant to commit a crime he or she would not otherwise commit.
