A Brooklyn judge will convene a special hearing to question the juror accused of lying his way onto the trial of ex-cop Peter Liang in the accidental killing of unarmed Akai Gurley.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun will determine whether the manslaughter conviction against the former NYPD officer should be set aside, given the bombshell discovery that the juror, Michael Vargas, did not disclose during jury selection that his dad had done time for shooting a friend.
Vargas hid from Chun that his estranged father had served time on a manslaughter conviction — for accidentally shooting a friend — despite the fact that he’d revealed the information to another judge just hours earlier as he was questioned as part of another jury pool on a different case.
Liang’s defense team submitted a motion Tuesday asking Chun to set aside the manslaughter verdict — possibly netting the former rookie a new trial — after Vargas blabbed about his dad.
The proceeding will take place April 13, a day before Liang is due to be sentenced for the fatal shooting of unarmed Akai Gurley in a housing project stairwell in Nov 2014.
Gurley and his girlfriend were on the landing below Liang when his gun went off–the bullet ricocheting off the wall and piercing Gurley’s heart.
Liang faces up to 15 years in prison on the manslaughter charge, but Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson has recommended a no-jail sentence.
Vargas did not immediately return a call for comment.