GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Allegations of jury tampering took center stage Monday at a Gwinnett County murder trial.
Prosecutors say jailhouse phone recordings caught Reco West talking to a friend about lying on the stand to help his co-defendant, Michael Davis.
The two men are on trial, accused of killing 15-year-old Nicholas Jackson during a home invasion.
After one juror was dismissed, testimony continued for West's trial. The judge ruled on Monday that Davis will have a separate trial.
Another call recorded West's cellmate, Cameron Kemp, trying to convince his mother to contact a juror on West's behalf though Facebook.
"We want you to create a fake page and just write, uh, like, 'Please don't send my son to prison,'" Kemp said during the call.
The woman on the other end of the phone, Angella Hodges, testified that she had been told West and the juror in question had been "silently talking during the trial."
"There is a couple of jurors who look like they are on Reco's side. That they understood," Hodges said.
After questioning, the judge found the juror had done nothing wrong, but he still dismissed her from the case.
The jury went on to hear more phone calls on Monday, including one in which West seems to admit to parts of the crime he has so far denied.
"They don't have any evidence on you," a woman says.
"Yes, they do," West replies.
"What?"
"Ski mask."
The prosecution is expected to rest its case on Tuesday.
WSBTV
