WILLMAR - The Court of Appeals has affirmed the convictions of Layne Allen Gerhardson, 52, of attempted first-degree aggravated robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault.
In a ruling issued on Monday, the Court of Appeals rejected claims by Gerhardson of prosecutorial misconduct and abuse by the Kandiyohi County District Court in denying his request for a hearing to determine whether the jury's verdicts were the result of misconduct.
A Kandiyohi County jury returned guilty verdicts July 19, 2017, on the charges. Gerhardson, of Willmar, was accused of entering a victim's home on Feb. 9, 2017, brandishing a tire iron, grabbing the victim by the throat, throwing him against the refrigerator, and demanding money, according to the court record.
Gerhardson claimed that the prosecution had committed misconduct during the trial by interjecting his personal opinion in closing arguments. The prosecutor stated in his closing argument that he strongly believed the facts supported the state's case, but also added: "It's up to you to decide what happened that day ... "
The Court of Appeals agreed with the District Court in finding that the prosecutor's comment of personal opinion was unlikely to have influenced the jury verdict "in light of the record as a whole."
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Gerhardson also charged that the District Court should have approved his request for a hearing after the trial to determine whether misconduct occurred. He argued that one of the jurors did not agree with the verdict.
The jury was polled after returning the verdict, and each juror agreed with the verdict. "However, one juror asked, 'Can I say people have beds to go home to?'"
The court then asked the juror if the verdict read was in fact the juror's verdict, and the individual replied "yes," the Court of Appeals noted in its decision.
The Court of Appeals agreed with the District Court finding that Gerhardson had failed to submit any evidence to indicate jury misconduct occurred.
