Jury selection will begin on May 7, a spokesman for the Justice Department confirmed.
The U.S. Justice Department will retry Francis Styles, the Bayonne police officer accused of covering up a brutality case, an official confirmed.
Three months after his first trial ended in a hung jury, Styles, 36, will face another go around in federal court, said Matthew Reilly, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito. Jury selection will begin on May 7.
The government will try to prove that Styles knowingly falsified a police report to cover up an incident of police brutality committed by disgraced ex-cop Domenico Lillo.
On Dec. 27, 2013, Lillo, Styles and officer James Wade, arrived at an Avenue C home to arrest Brandon Walsh on a warrant out of Sussex County.
During the incident, Lillo pepper-sprayed Walsh, causing his entire family to become “violently ill.” Walsh was then led around the corner to an ambulance and struck in the face with a flashlight by Lillo. The assault was captured on video.
Lillo pleaded guilty in September 2015 to using excessive force during the Walsh arrest. He later struck a plea deal with the government, and in December spent nearly three days testifying against Style in federal court.
Walsh and his family sued the city, but eventually settled. The Jersey Journal had its own trouble getting a hold of the settlement, battling Bayonne and its insurer for 12 months in court to to obtain the settlement agreement, which was eventually released to the paper. The agreement was worth at least $ 1.5 million.
Despite explosive testimony from Lillo, the case ended in a mistrial on Dec. 18 after the jury told U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty that a verdict could not be reached.
Styles’ defense moved to file a motion for acquittal immediately after the mistrial was declared, but the Justice Department opposed that motion on Feb. 1, claiming that “a rational juror could find that the essential elements of the crimes charged were proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
McNulty officially denied the motion in February.
Lillo’s sentencing, meanwhile, was yet against postponed earlier this month, prompting speculation the government was prepping for a second trial.
Lillo’s sentencing has been postponed a number of time. This year, it was pushed back from Jan. 25 to March 5, and again moved to July 26.
Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
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