SIDNEY – A jury trial in the Shelby County Common Pleas Court on July 19 for Brandt M. Kellem, 28, of Sidney, ended in a mistrial due to some jurors disobeying the court’s rules while on the lunch break.

A staff member for the court overheard one juror discussing the details of the case that they had witnessed before the break with another juror while walking to The Spot Restaurant across from the courthouse. This went against the court’s rules to not discuss the case with anyone, even among themselves, until a verdict was reached. The rules were read to all jurors and projected on a screen before the trial started.

Judge James Stevenson, the judge presiding on the case, provided two options: either dismiss the juror at fault and bring in the alternate juror or dismiss all the jurors and reschedule the trial. Since the court did not know if the jurors’ decisions would be impacted by the statements, they decided on the latter.

Another jury trial for Kellem has not been scheduled at this time.