DETROIT – The jury foreman in the Samantha Woll murder trial in Detroit has spoken out about the judges’ decision about Michael Jackson-Bolanos.
The suspect in the case, Jackson-Bolanos, appeared in court for the first time since his trial in the murder case.
The judge dismissed his murder and home invasion charges on Friday (Aug. 9), but Bolanos was back in court after his defense filed a motion last month to dismiss the case.
Local 4 learned he cannot be put on trial again for Woll’s murder nor home invasion, but Bolanos was sentenced between 18 months and 15 years for lying to police in connection with that case.
The foreman discussed how Woll’s ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Herbsman’s confession affected the judge’s not-guilty decision for Bolanos.
“I’m a little disappointed,” said the foreman. “I know they said Herbstman had some sort of episode. To me, that was proving that he (Herbsman) also lied to the police. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, like if it was me I would’ve thought that he could’ve been charged with the same thing.”
Jackson-Bolanos was found not guilty of felony murder, and the foreman said the room during days and days of deliberations, the votes were more than a dozen as it was closer to 50/50 when determining if he was guilty or not guilty.
The foreman said they felt pressure to convict.
“We felt the gravity of it all, We felt the gravity of the situation of all the charges. We understood the severity of what happened as somebody lost their life,” the foreman said. “Because of the holes in the case, we had to figure out to us. I have a family, a wife and I can’t imagine if it was my daughter. I still lose sleep over it. I did not know of Samantha Woll until this trial, which is probably why some of us were picked. Unfortunately, I don’t think it turned out. Nobody was happy with how the verdict turned out.”
Jackson-Bolanos thought that he would get probation on Friday. It was recommended that he would get probation but he received 18 months to 15 years in jail.