Still no verdict in Salem DWI trial

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Council Chair Sarah Salem, on right, being placed in handcuffs by a City of Poughkeepsie Police Officer on February 26, 2020. Mid-Hudson News file photo.

POUGHKEEPSIE – The DWI trial for Common Council Chairperson Sarah Salem continues to be in the hands of the jury.  On Monday morning, the jury had the court reporter re-read the testimony of defense witness Dr. Robert Powers.  The testimony provided by the expert involved the rates at which alcohol is absorbed by the body.  The read-back took approximately two hours.

The jury will resume deliberations on Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m.

A summary of the trial can be found here.

After lunch, the jury reconvened at 1:45 and continued deliberations.  Late in the afternoon, the jury passed a note to Judge Steven Volkman asking for a read-back of the testimony of prosecution witness Kimmery Levering.

Levering was at a Poughkeepsie bar on February 26, 2020, and was with Salem when she was allegedly driving drunk and ran a red light, striking another vehicle, injuring the motorist.

Levering testified that she did not think Salem was intoxicated on the night of the accident.  She also testified that, after meeting with the prosecutor just before the trial, Levering then had a conversation with Salem’s defense attorney Steve Patterson.

The read-back of Levering’s testimony began at 3:30 p.m. on Monday and lasted until 3:56 p.m. on Monday at which point Judge Volkman dismissed the four men and two women on the jury until Tuesday.




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