Shemar Moore has caught plenty of fictional criminals on television in Criminal Minds and SWAT. So would he want to be on the El Chapo jury? Not at all.
In an airport interview with a TMZ cameraman, Moore said he would fear for his life if he was a juror on the case.
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“El Chapo is no joke, and anybody connected to that squad,” the 47-year-old Oakland native said. “I mean, he’s running stuff and they do some underground stuff. He’s connected.”
When asked if he would believe El Chapo would not harm the jurors, Moore said he would do what it takes to protect himself.
“Would you take the word of a man who’s done some grimy stuff?” Moore asked. The actor said he would rather go to jail than serve on the juror handling El Chapo’s case.
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was extradited to the U.S. last year and was supposed to go on trial in April. The trial was pushed to September, and New York federal prosecutors asked that jurors be anonymous, sequestered and transported by U.S. Marshalls for their protection.
But last week, Eduardo Balazero, the attorney for the Sinaloa Cartel boss, filed a motion this week to oppose an anonymous jury.
“Such an order would unduly burden Mr. Guzman’s presumption of innocence, impair his ability to conduct meaningful voir dire (examination of potential jurors) and create the extremely unfair impression that he is a dangerous person from whom the jury must be protected,” the motion read, reports CNN.
Guzman was indicted on 17 counts related to the distribution of narcotics and the murders of rivals. He pleaded not guilty.
Balazero claimed the case against his client is based on “numerous cooperating witnesses who will testify at trial in exchange for reduced prison sentences.” He said an anonymous jury “would poison the atmosphere of the case and serve to bolster the government’s proof by creating the impression that Mr. Guzman is guilty and dangerous.”
Guzman is being held in solitary confinement at a federal prison in Manhattan.
Photo credit: Timothy Kuratek / CBS
