By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Nov 5 – While he was a corrections officer at the now-empty Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan, Robert Adams was accused of catching and then letting off the hook "non-inmate visitor 1" in exchange for her having sex with him.
On November 5, 2021, after a trial reported on by Inner City Press, Adams was found Not guilty of all charges: "JURY VERDICT as to Robert Adams (1) Not Guilty on Count 1,1s,2,2s,3s. (lnl)."
Back on November 1, Non-Inmate Visitor 1 was cross-examined by Adams' lawyer, and at least one person in the jury box didn't like the "tone and method" of the cross-examination.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Paul G. Gardephe told the defense lawyer, Samuel Gregory, that while jurors are admonished not to talk about the case, they can and often do talk about the lawyer.
Gregory said the regular admonition, not to discuss "any aspect of the case," would suffice then.
Before the November 1 trial day ended, Gregory asked Non-Inmate Visitor 1, It was consensual, wasn't it?
But according to the superseding indictment, Adams flashed his gun when he picked up Non-Inmate Visitor 1 at the pizzeria near the MCC.
The story goes that Adams observed Non-Inmate Visitor 1 deliver drugs to an inmate, then decided to use it for leverage for sex.
But Non-Inmate Visitor 1 turned around and Googled Adams, and told her friends she "bagged a Fed." The motions in limine are more graphic, about a broken condom and more.
The day ended with uninvolved Qunisha Boyce on the stand, identifying herself on the MCC video entering the visitors' room, 9 months pregnant, and want she allegedly heard Adams say, about the drugs and pizzeria.
The Assistant US Attorneys, including Nicholas Roos just finished with the Lev Parnas trial, said they would rest at midday November 2, followed by closing arguments on November 3.
On November 3 at 5 pm Inner City Press checked in on the case; the jury was still deliberating.
On November 4 just after noon the jury had five questions. Inner City Press ran to the courtroom to hear them. The jurors want to be directed to testimony by Harris from the time the drugs were intercepted until, Judge Gardephe ruled, they left the pizzeria. There is no testimony about if a second guard was present when the drugs were found.
And then, the not guilty verdicts. The players: defense attorneys Zachery Taylor and Samuel Gregory. AUSAs Rushmi Bhaskaran, Jarrod Schaefer and Nicholas Roos.
The case is US v. Adams, 20-cr-494 (Gardephe).
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