FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Questions about possible grand jury irregularities have arisen in the case of a Florida deputy charged with manslaughter in the shooting of a man carrying an air rifle.
Defense attorney Eric Schwartzreich said at a hearing Thursday that one grand juror might have been biased against Broward Sheriff's Office Deputy Peter Peraza because his daughter was facing drunken-driving charges. A judge, however, agreed with prosecutors that the juror should not have to testify about it.
Schwartzreich also questioned how the shooting victim's family obtained statements and evidence while the investigation was ongoing.
Peraza has pleaded not guilty in the 2013 shooting of 33-year-old Jermaine McBean, who was carrying an authentic-looking air rifle. McBean was black. Peraza is white.
Peraza faces 30 years in prison if convicted.
