By Alexandra Malloy
A jury has convicted 21-year-old Charles Reddicks of murdering Boston man Mariano Malave in April 0f 2012. The Dorchester resident was charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and other crimes after he shot 25-year-old Malave multiple times on April 27, 2012 in Jamaica Plain.
The verdict came after over three days of deliberations, but just four hours after a judge told the jury to begin deliberations anew after one juror needed to be replaced.
Mariano Malave
Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Thursday, the jury foreperson announced the jury had a question. A deliberating juror had expressed a personal reason that rendered her unable to continue her duty as a juror.
At a sidebar, Judge Linda Giles questioned the juror about her concern and reasons for a possible dismissal. The juror said she was distressed because the trial had prevented her to be able to make DCF-supervised visits with her daughter.
After further discussion, Judge Giles decided to excuse the juror due to her lack of willingness to participate in deliberations.
“She’s just a very unhappy person because she hasn’t visited her child in three weeks,” Giles said at the sidebar.
The court picked an alternate juror to take her place and Judge Giles told the jury they needed to begin deliberations again from the beginning.
By 2:30 p.m., the jury had returned their verdict, convicting Reddicks of second-degree murder and possession of a loaded firearm. He was found not guilty on the armed robbery charge.
Reddicks faces a possible life sentence in jail on Friday when he appears in court again for sentencing.
