Jurors remained deadlocked late Wednesday night in the trial of the man accused of the 2006 slaying of a Metra police officer, after lengthy deliberation over two days.
Jurors spent more than 14 hours Tuesday and Wednesday unable to reach a unanimous decision on whether Jemetric Nelson, the 28-year-old convicted felon accused in the slaying, pulled the trigger nine years ago and killed Metra police officer Thomas Cook. Deliberations will enter their third day Thursday.
Prosecutors already have indicated they will retry Nicholson should the trial end in a hung jury.
Cook, the longtime police officer and father of two, was sitting in his squad car in September 2006 near the 147th Street Metra station when he was shot twice in the back of the head. Witnesses testified during the trial that Nicholson, who is serving time in Stateville Correctional Center on charges that include attempted murder of a Harvey police officer, was looking to commit armed robberies when he came across Cook’s car.
His defense argues that the state is relying on witnesses whose stories about what happened the night Cook, of unincorporated Dyer, Ind., was slain have changed over the years. Nicholson took the stand Friday, saying he was not at the shooting and did not kill the officer.
Late Wednesday, the jury’s foreman told Cook County Judge Frank Zelezinski he did not believe the 12 would be able to break the deadlock. Another juror agreed, but a third one told Zelezinski that a consensus might be possible if they were allowed more time to deliberate.
Prosecutors told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday that the case was a slam dunk and that Nicholson, who goes by the street name “Meechie,” was guilty.
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“Everything that came off that witness stand pointed at old Meechie here,” Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Kosman said during his closing argument.
The state is relying on circumstantial evidence, such as Nicholson admitting he has hidden guns in Robbins and Cook’s service weapon being found there, as well as witnesses who say a cohort of Nicholson’s told jurors he saw him point the gun at Cook’s car window.
Defense attorney David Sotomayor called Jeremy Lloyd, the witness who said he saw Nicholson the night of the killing, a “liar” during closing arguments on Tuesday. Lloyd has agreed to testify as part of a plea deal that will land him 37 years in state prison for his role in the shooting death of Cook and the attempted murder of a Harvey cop. His recollection of what happened the night Cook was shot, according to the defense, has evolved over time.
Cook had been with the Metra police for three years after serving a decade with the Riverdale Police Department. He took the job because he thought railroad police work would be safer than his position in Riverdale.
Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter.