SAN DIEGO : Juror Excused After Bringing in Article

A juror was excused Thursday in a murder trial because she brought a newspaper article into the jury room and read aloud the account of another case.

Characterizing the event as “misconduct,” Superior Court Judge Bernard E. Revak warned the remaining 11 jurors not to bring any reading material into the deliberation room.

An alternate juror is expected to be impaneled Friday morning and deliberations will begin anew.

The newspaper story concerned the sentencing of admitted double murderer Bradley Parlin and how the sentencing judge gave an impassioned speech about drug users, claiming their habits are an excuse for committing crimes.

The jury is deciding the fate of Michael Hansen, a 25-year-old San Diego man accused of firing 11 rounds from a 9-millimeter handgun into a Paradise Hills duplex because a resident had stolen methamphetamine from him. Diane Rosalez, 13, an eighth-grader at Granger Junior High School, was killed while talking on the phone.

The defense maintains that, if Hansen actually did the shooting--which he says he doesn’t remember--then he can be convicted only of involuntary manslaughter, because the alcohol in his system was more than twice the legal limit to drive and because he suffered brain injuries in two motorcycle accidents.