Joshua C. Story, a 43-year-old of Owensboro, was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday for alleged jury tampering that led to a mistrial in a murder case last month.
Sheriff Barry Smith said that as of Thursday night a warrant for arrest had not yet been signed. Smith said Sgt. Lee Blanton investigated the case.
Smith previously said that an investigation into the potential tampering led to a single suspect. He could not provide any details beyond saying a case was being presented to a grand jury to determine if an indictment would be made. Following the indictment, Smith still declined to provide any more details of the investigation.
The alleged incident occurred during the murder case against Robert K. Garner. Garner was charged with murder in 2017 after he was alleged of crashing his car while driving under the influence and causing the death of his passenger Cody Glover. The trial began Feb. 7, 2022.
Potential jury tampering led to the mistrial that was declared the following day.
Daviess Circuit Judge Jay Wethington previously said no juror was involved in misconduct. Wethington said on Feb. 9 that he couldn’t detail how the allegation originated due to the open investigation, but said “it’ll all be open for review” upon the conclusion of the investigation. An order was entered that day to seal in-chamber conferences and the court’s interview of the jury until the investigation was complete.
Garner’s new trial date has since been set for Aug. 15.
A grand jury indictment only means the jurors found sufficient evidence to bring formal criminal charges against the person accused of the crime. It does not determine whether or not the person is guilty or determine a punishment.
Jury tampering is a Class D felony. According to state law, “a person is guilty of jury tampering when, with intent to influence a juror’s vote, opinion, decision or other action in a case, he communicates or attempts to communicate, directly or indirectly, with a juror other than as a part of the proceedings in the trial of the case.”
