A judge this week denied the request for a new trial by a 27-year-old Aurora woman convicted in a murder-for-hire plot.
In July, a jury convicted Maricela Arciga of solicitation of murder and solicitation of murder for hire related to her paying an undercover agent a $200 down payment to kill her ex-boyfriend in 2010.
She is awaiting sentencing on the Class X felony convictions that carry a minimum of six years in prison. She is scheduled to return to court May 8, although no sentencing date has been scheduled.
Arciga sought a new trial in a motion filed in December. Her attorney claimed Kane County Judge Susan Clancy Boles erred by not sustaining defense objections relating to certain witness testimony and in the handing of the jury.
In March, Arciga’s attorney raised concerns about the jury’s deliberations after an alternate was called in to replace a juror who fell ill. The judge ordered the jury to begin its deliberations from the start with the alternate, court records indicate.
The alternate juror, in an affidavit included in court documents, said he did not participate in the decision to find Arciga guilty on two counts discussed with the original juror and that he only had “limited’ deliberations on the third count.
The juror in the affidavit suggested “he may have found the defendant not guilty” if he participated in full deliberations. Prosecutors countered that there are limited circumstances in which a jury’s decision can be impeached after a verdict has been delivered and the judge has polled jurors as to their decision, according to court documents.
Boles on Tuesday denied the motion to reconsider the verdict and give Arciga a new trial. Additional post-trial motions are expected to be filed before sentencing.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter
