Posted on December 1, 2009

Jury Convicts Dixon on One Count

WMAR-TV (Baltimore), December 1, 2009

The jury convicted Mayor Sheila Dixon on one count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary.

Dixon was acquitted of felony theft charges.

The jury couldn’t reach an unanimous decision on count six. The judge declared a mistrial. The state has until the end of the week to decide whether to refile the charges related to that count.

After the verdict was read, Dixon promised that the city will continue to run.

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About 10 minutes after reconvening Tuesday morning, a juror sent the judge a note asking “Does the jury need to be unanimous on all five counts?”

Judge Dennis Sweeney instructed jurors that to reach a verdict on any count they must be unanimous on that count, but acknowledged that they may not reach verdicts on some counts.

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Dixon is accused of stealing or misappropriating hundreds of dollars in gift cards. Defense lawyers say some of the cards appeared to be personal gifts to Dixon from an anonymous admirer.