Thread by @alanfeuer

For argument's sake let's say there's a hung jury, even acquittal, in the Chapo trial. What happens next?
Chapo is facing charges in 6 districts other than Brooklyn and would be taken into custody again on one of those pending detainers.
He would not pass go or collect $200.

Almost certainly, another trial would be scheduled. That trial might take place in another district like El Paso, Texas. There is some overlap of charges in the separate indictments but the charges aren't identical. Double jeopardy would likely not apply.

As for the Brooklyn jury, today is their 4th day of deliberations. That's not an unusual stretch for an 11-week trial with vast amounts of evidence. It may *feel* like a long time to those who watched the entire trial but, objectively speaking, it's not that long.

The El Paso indictment cites crimes not mentioned at the Brooklyn trial that violate specific Texas laws.
Just one: In 9/09, the cartel kidnapped a victim in Texas known as SS after he lost 670 lbs of pot. He was beaten, strangled & his severed hands were placed on his chest.

Also in the El Paso indictment:
In 5/10, a groom was kidnapped from his own wedding ceremony in Juarez w/his brother & uncle on cartel orders. They were tortured, killed & their bodies found by Juarez cops in the back of an abandoned pick up.
We never heard that in Brooklyn.

(The Juarez wedding kidnappings/tortures/murders have a nexus to US law because the indictment says the groom was a resident of New Mexico and the cartel used someone in El Paso to identify him.)
Etc.

A strange mini-drama this morning in court.
A man claiming to be "family" of Chapo was kicked out of the main courtroom and placed into the overflow room.
Here's what happened:

The man sat in the row reserved for the defense and where Chapo's wife, Emma Coronel, usually sits. When asked by a Spanish-speaking reporter who he was, he said he was Chapo's family--from Milan, Italy. When he pressed, he amended things, saying his family was close to Chapo's.

One of the US marshals providing courtroom security then told the man he couldn't sit in the defense row and--with a very obvious attitude--he claimed again he was "family." The attitude got him escorted out of the courtroom into the overflow room.

This followed a morning consumed by a completely unsubstantiated rumor that two jurors had called in sick, threatening to delay deliberations. That's the general state of affairs here. In the absence of actual news, gossip and minor dramas have taken over...

It was @keegan_hamilton who 1st alerted the Chapo "relative" he was sitting in the defense row. The guy, unpleasantly, said he was family. When the Spanish-speaking reporter mentioned he didn't sound like he was from Italy he said he had many houses around the world

There's definitely a weird vibe in the courthouse today.
At 930 am, in a separate matter, a Colombian vet will be sentenced on charges of raising dogs on a farm in Medellin and surgically implanting liquid heroin in their bellies for smuggling.

Ok, so the day gets weirder:
Law enforcement just escorted the Chapo relative/friend out of the overflow courtroom in handcuffs. One official said the man had an open warrant, but it doesn't seem to be at all related to Chapo's case.

Reporters in the overflow room said 7 to 8 marshals and/or court security officers removed him from the room and cuffed him. I personally saw him in the hallway being led to the elevators and downstairs.

Chapo's lawyers have now called the arrested man a fraud.
"The family doesn't know him--no relation," said Jeff Lichtman. "The family disavows him completely. He's an imposter."

I waited to identify the man but others have named him so:
He ID'd himself on a list of courtroom visitors as "Rene Martinez." He arrived at the courthouse this morning at 6:55 am, according to the list.
He's late 40s/early 50's with longish hair in a sweater.

Law enforcement now confirms the name on the guy's driver license--a NY state driver's license--was indeed Rene Martinez. Martinez apparently had multiple open warrants. He will be presented in Brooklyn State Supreme Court later today.

Turns out Martínez had open warrants on three aggravated harassment charges.
According to a complaint, after some sort of argument, he texted a woman: “I’m coming after you and I know where you work.”

Why was he attending Chapo’s trial? Remains unclear...

Chapo trial arrestee, Rene Martinez, has now been turned over to ICE. He had an immigration detainer.