A Gary man convicted in a gun case last year is arguing the verdict was compromised by jury misconduct.
Lironte Biggs, 30, is serving an 8-year sentence after he was convicted in April of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. He was sentenced May 30.
However, in a jury questionnaire, a man confessed he felt “pressured” to convict so they could go home.
“One juror mentioned that he looked up the defendant on mycase.in.gov (the state’s court website) and (Biggs) wasn’t a ‘good’ person,” the man wrote. “That alone got everyone to decide one way, but ignored the case at hand.”
“I changed my vote due to everyone’s feelings,” he added. “They totally ignored what we were there for, and that was to strictly focus on this one case. I felt this individual didn’t get a fair trial, due to lack of evidence.”
Biggs filed a motion to correct error on June 27 — i.e. a legal motion noting there were mistakes big enough at trial for the verdict to be set aside.
Judge Natalie Bokota ruled he didn’t file his motion in time — usually in a 30-day timeframe.
However, in a 3-0 decision on Dec. 16, Indiana Appeals Judge Elaine Brown wrote Biggs did meet the deadline and returned the case to Bokota’s court.
Deputy Prosecutor Lindsey Lanham and defense lawyers Susan Severtson and Mark Bates have indicated they want to subpoena jurors. The next hearing is Feb. 28.
Police wrote they pulled a car over on Oct. 26, 2023 near 24th Avenue after the driver was caught speeding on Broadway Avenue in Gary. Three men were in the car; Biggs was in the backseat holding a Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
After all three got out, cops found a 9-mm gun under the back seat. Police said Biggs was the only man near the gun. At first, he told cops he didn’t know the gun was in the car, then later said it wasn’t his and the other passenger put it back there.
He claimed he was in the front seat, but cops noted their body cam footage showed him in the backseat.
Biggs, at 16, was charged in 2011 with molesting a 6-year-old boy. He was sentenced to six years in 2013.
