Two men who terrified a Cuyahoga County jury by pointing cameras at them last week during an aggravated murder trial were jailed Wednesday for contempt of court.
One of the men, a friend of aggravated-murder suspect Dwayne Davenport, recorded images of the jury and prosecutors for eight minutes last Wednesday before jurors noticed, and Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo declared a mistrial.
Russo sentenced the two men for what she described as “intimidating and frightening my jury” and making the jurors and others fearful of jury service.
Andre Block, 28, of Cleveland, got 60 days in jail for using his Flip camera to create the video. His public defender told Russo that Block knew Davenport faced a lengthy prison sentence, so he was using the camera “to preserve a memory of his friend.”
Davenport’s cousin Dwight Davenport, 28, of East Cleveland, was sentenced to 30 days. His cell phone did not contain images of the jury, but the judge said his intent was clear. “You were seen by more than one person pointing it at the jury,” Russo said. “You knew full well what you were doing.”
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Article courtesy cleveland.com
