Jury in rape trial stuck on first charge

Deepa Bharath

About seven hours into deliberations, jurors in a high-profile rape

case on Thursday asked Judge Francisco Briseno if they should proceed

to deliberate on other counts if they can’t reach a verdict on the

first count, court officials said.

Greg Haidl, son of Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, Kyle

Nachreiner and Keith Spann are accused of raping an unconscious

16-year-old girl in the assistant sheriff’s Corona del Mar home.

Prosecutors say the teenagers raped the girl and sexually assaulted

her with various objects.

The teens also made a videotape of the incident, which has been

played before the jury and other witnesses. The public was not

allowed to view the tape as it was played in the courtroom.

If convicted of the 24 felony counts, the boys face up to 55 years

in prison. The jury trial began on May 3.

The defense has argued that the acts were consensual and brought

Harris Fisk, a neurologist, to testify that he believed the girl was

in an alert state of mind during the incident. The prosecution put

neurologist Peter Fotinakes on the stand, who said he believed the

girl was heavily intoxicated if not unconscious and was

nonresponsive.

Court officials released copies of the jury’s request Thursday

afternoon. Earlier in the day, they had asked to see portions of the

videotape, the court papers show. At about 1:25 p.m., they asked the

question: “If we are unable to reach a verdict on count No. 1, are we

to continue to other counts or do we stop?”

The first count is rape by intoxication. Briseno instructed the

jury to proceed with the other counts, officials said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Schroeder said it is too premature for

anyone to guess what jurors are talking about behind closed doors.

“It would be like trying to read tea leaves,” she said. “It’s not

unusual for juries to have difficulty figuring out how to go about

the process. That doesn’t mean they’re decided or undecided.”

Jurors also asked for the complete testimonies of Fisk and

Fotinakes to be read out to them. That, too, is common in lengthy

trials, Schroeder said.

Haidl’s attorney, Joseph Cavallo, said he did not want to guess

the jury’s direction.

“I have no reaction to their questions,” he said. “I’m just going

to wait and see what their final verdict will be.”

Jurors will not meet today. They will be back to continue

deliberations Monday morning.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.