Jury deliberations began today in the murder trial of a former San Francisco BART officer Johannes Mehserle, who is accused of fatally shooting an unarmed man last year on an Oakland train platform on New years day. The panel of 7 men and 5 women, who met in court briefly Friday, had been slated to begin their 1st full day of deliberations yesterday, however a juror’s illness prevented deliberations. The jury restarted talks today after an alternate juror must be seated since another one of the jurors is leaving on vacation. The case was moved to Los Angeles due to racial tension and extensive media coverage in Alameda County after Mehserle pleaded not guilty in the shooting death of 22-year old Oscar Grant.
