BOSTON – A man who skipped the final stages of jury selection in the Boston Marathon bombing trial has been fined $400 and sentenced to 40 hours of community service.
A federal judge imposed the sanction Thursday against Jose Gutierrez of Lawrence.
Judge William Young found that Gutierrez intentionally violated his obligation to serve as a juror by skipping jury service March 3 so he could go to work. Gutierrez had made it through the initial rounds of jury duty.
The judge cited more than 1,300 other prospective jurors who complied with their obligation to appear in court for the trial of bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The judge told Gutierrez he should be "ashamed" of his decision.
Attorney Hank Brennan, who represented Gutierrez, said he reported for the first two rounds of jury selection, but did not attend the third round because he felt he needed to go to his job as a medical interpretor that day.
"He had young patients he felt wouldn't get the care they needed that day if he wasn't there," Brennan said.
"At the time, he thought he was making the right decision, but knowing now that he affected the (jury selection) system, he knows now that he made the wrong choice."
Last month, Tsarnaev was convicted of 30 federal charges in the deadly 2013 attack. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when twin pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the marathon finish line on April 15, 2013.
The same jury is now hearing evidence to decide his punishment: life in prison or the death penalty.
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