Update: Officer Moris guilty of assault. Not guilty of misconduct in office.
UPDATE: The verdict is in for Officer Kevin Moris: He was found guilty of second-degree assault, and not guilty of misconduct in office. https://t.co/DEYx6QChvV
— DC News Now (@DCNewsNow) December 12, 2019
A jury finds Montgomery County Police Officer Kevin Moris guilty of second degree assault and not guilty of misconduct in office in the arrest of Arnaldo Pesoa. @WTOP
— Megan Cloherty (@ClohertyNews5) December 12, 2019
And the Washington Post report.
Original post: The jury weighing whether a Montgomery Count police officer used excessive force in the arrest of drug suspect told a judge on Thursday they could not reach a decision.
Judge Nelson W. Rupp Jr. told the jurors to try again after lunch. The jury resumed deliberations about 1 p.m.
The case involves Officer Kevin Moris, who was recorded on cell phone video kneeing Arnaldo Pesoa, 20, outside a McDonald’s in Aspen Hill.
In the July 3 arrest, Pesoa faced three drug charges. Two were ultimately dropped and Pesoa was convicted on the third. He received a six-month jail term, according to online court records.
Moris, 32, was charged on July 9 with second-degree assault and misconduct in office.
The assault charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The misconduct charge is common law — the judge can impose whatever sentence he sees fit.
Here is Police Chief Marcus Jones and State’s Attorney John McCarthy describing the charges against Moris from a news conference in July:
