Justice took a commercial break today when the trial of a grizzled ex-con who allegedly shot his parole officer was delayed so a juror could rush to an audition for the TV show “Law and Order.”
Juror No. 6 – a tall man with dark hair – told Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi that he had received a callback to audition for the popular crime drama, which is known to lift its plots straight from New York City streets and courtrooms.
“Good luck. We’ll be looking for you on TV,” said Ozzi, after he agreed to push back opening statements in the trial of Robert “Poison” Morales by five hours to accommodate the schedule for Juror No. 6, a struggling actor and producer whose injured wife is out of work.
Morales, 52, allegedly whipped out a 9mm handgun and blasted his parole officer in the shoulder inside a downtown Brooklyn parole office in 2010.
Prosecutors charge that Morales intended to kill the veteran officer, Samuel Salters.
“This defendant decided it was his right to take another man’s life,” thundered assistant district attorney Lewis Lieberman. “His only regret was that his gun jammed and he didn’t kill him.”
Lieberman also mocked Morales’ claims that he found the gun in the garbage on his way to the parole office.
Morales showed no remorse when led to his arraignment in 2010.
“I’m just sorry he’s not dead,” he crowed to reporters at the time. “He deserved it . . . He’s an a- -hole.”
Defense attorney Ken Perry said Morales attacked Salters because the parole officer verbally abused him and demanded he follow a strict curfew.
A row of parole officers sat in the courtroom in show of solidarity for their colleague. Morales turned to stare them down as they filed out after the proceedings.
Morales was on parole for setting a fire over a $2 debt that killed an 8-year-old boy. He was sentenced to 25 years to life and was released in 2002.