Juror sends note to judge about entrapment

A juror sent a note to U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson on Tuesday asking if a key witness entrapped those involved in an alleged conspiracy to buy and sell votes.Sen. Scott Beason, on tapes heard by jurors on Monday and Tuesday, asked two men who have pleaded guilty and a defendant what they could do for him if he voted for pro-gambling legislation.
Beason went to the FBI, agreed to cooperate and used devices to record personal conversations and phone conversations. He recorded conversations with VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor, Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley, Gilley’s lobbyist Jarrod Massey, and Republican activist Brad Unruh, who also worked for McGregor and Massey.
McGregor is one of nine defendants in a corruption case in which they are accused of buying and selling support for the pro-gambling legislation. Gilley and Massey have pleaded guilty.
Massey, on the tapes, makes offers of money and a public relations job to Beason if he supports pro-gambling legislation.
Beason does bait the men, saying he is taking a political risk and asking what they can do to help him.
The juror also asked, in the note, if Beason was coached by the FBI about what to say.
Thompson gave prosecutors until after lunch to decide how to handle their argument about how Thompson should respond to the note.