Juror Dismissed in Brancato Cop Slaying Trial
Lillo Brancato is charged with second-degree murder
Thursday, Dec 18, 2008 | Updated 3:11 PM EST
AP
An off-duty police officer was killed Saturday in a gunfight with two burglars outside his home, Saturday Dec. 10, 2005. One of the suspects was identified by police as Lillo Brancato Jr., an actor who also appeared in several episodes of "The Sopranos" as Matt Bevilacqua. Lillo Brancato, Jr.is shown in a Feb. 2005 photo in New York. (AP Photo/David Greene)
A mistrial was avoided Thursday in the trial of a former "Sopranos'' actor accused in the shooting death of an off-duty police officer after it was discovered a juror had been taking notes on testimony and doing research on the case at home.
Lillo Brancato, charged with second-degree murder in the December 2005 shooting death of Officer Daniel Enchautegui, agreed to a substitution with an alternate juror after the original juror was dismissed. That juror was allegedly doing research at home. Brancato's consent was required to continue the trial because the jury had already started deliberating. If he said no, a mistrial would have been declared.
The jury, which began deliberating Wednesday, must start over.
Prosecutors say Brancato, 32, and an accomplice broke into a Bronx apartment next door to the officer's home. When the officer came to investigate, the accomplice fired at him, hitting him in the heart.
