Juror 'Panicked,' Lied to Va. Judge

Lapse a Puzzle, Attorney Says

The matter of Lindy L. Heaster, as the court records refer to it, may always be a mystery, even to Lindy Heaster herself.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said yesterday, half-smiling, from behind her front door in Woodbridge. "I don't want to be rude -- this has been too hard."

In a Prince William County courtroom Friday, Heaster, 58, a retired government secretary, was found in contempt of court for lying to a judge about buying two newspapers on a day she sat as a juror deliberating the fate of Gerardo N. Lara Sr.

The jury convicted Lara of murdering his wife, a verdict that might have stood had Heaster confessed to buying the newspapers when the judge asked her about it.

Instead, the woman who donated a kidney to her daughter, counseled grieving friends, gave time to local charities and by all accounts never once ran afoul of the law, lied.

"She still can't explain why she lied," said her attorney, Thomas Abbenante. "She just panicked."

A mistrial was declared, Heaster was found in contempt and at her sentencing Friday, Circuit Court Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. illustrated the consequences of juror misconduct in the county: She was ordered to pay $21,290 in restitution -- from $260 for audiovisual equipment to $3,000 in airfare for the victim's family and $7,000 for the cost of defense attorneys.

Heaster, whose pension is about $32,000 a year, was ordered to write letters of apology to each juror in the five-day trial and to perform 250 hours of community service within a year. Alston also gave Heaster a six-month jail sentence, which he suspended.

"We thought it was reasoned and appropriate under the circumstances," said Lara's attorney, Jon E. Shields, who had recognized Heaster in a 7-Eleven near the courthouse on April 15, the last day of deliberations, and noticed she had what appeared to be newspapers under her arm.

Upon seeing him, Shields said, she looked like "a deer in headlights." He requested a mistrial that morning, prompting the judge to ask Heaster about her trip to the store.

She said she bought coffee. The judge mentioned the presence of newspaper racks. "I know, but I'm not looking at newspapers," Heaster replied, according to court transcripts.

"Did you purchase one?" the judge asked.