Curious juror triggers mistrial in the Kima Evans shooting death case

Defendant Kaylon Bailey reacts as a mistrial is ruled on his case at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Courts Building in Judge Rebecca Stern’s courtroom on Thursday. A juror was reported as performing outside research on the case.

A juror triggered a last-minute mistrial in a murder case Thursday when he admitted breaking the judge’s rule against doing research outside the courtroom.

Jurors in Kaylon Bailey’s trial over the shooting death of Kima Evans last year had listened to two days of emotionally loaded testimony. They returned Thursday morning for instructions and deliberations. All that was left was a verdict.

An hour into deliberations, foreman Hank Swanson said jurors were talking about the possible motive for the shooting when a male juror piped up.

“This guy stood up and said, ‘Well, I done some research and [Bailey’s] been in jail for eight years on cocaine charges,'” Swanson recounted.