FILE – In this Feb. 22, 2014 file photo, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the head of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, is escorted to a helicopter in Mexico City following his capture in the beach resort town of Mazatlan. A New York judge has rejected a request for a new trial by the Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan said in a written ruling Wednesday, July 3, 2019, that a “mountain range of evidence” introduced against Guzman overcame his claims that the jury was tainted. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has rejected a request for a new trial by the Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan said in a written ruling Wednesday that a “mountain range of evidence” introduced against Joaquin Guzman (hwah-KEEN’ goos-MAHN’) overcame his claims that the jury was tainted.
Cogan said any rational average juror would have convicted El Chapo based on overwhelming evidence at a trial that ended in February. Guzman was convicted of murder conspiracy and drug trafficking charges.
Defense attorneys sought a new trial, saying jurors improperly followed media coverage. They cited a Vice News report alleging jurors were aware of potentially prejudicial claims that were excluded from the trial.
Cogan said the claims lacked “extremely prejudicial conduct” required for a new trial.
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