Lynn rape trial juror arrested

SALEM – A District Court judge ordered a juror in the trial of three Salem men accused of raping a teenage girl in Lynn to be held on $5,000 cash bail after he allegedly lied to trial Judge John Lu about knowing at least one of the defendants.Salem Police arrested Jonathan Ngarambe, 23, of 10 First St., Salem, Tuesday afternoon and charged him with intimidating a witness, Assistant District Attorney Patrick Collins said. Collins asked for $25,000 cash bail during the arraignment Wednesday afternoon.Ngarambe was a member of the jury pool in the Superior Court trial of Rafael Nino Brito, 22, Luis Arias, 22, and Justin Louf, 21, all of Salem, who are charged with aggravated rape after allegedly gang-raping a 17-year-old Salem girl on Feb. 15, 2008 following a Lynn English basketball game, according to an arrest report.?Assistant District Attorney (Greg) Friedholm had earlier seen (Ngarambe) interacting with the co-defendants and became concerned,” Collins told District Court Judge Michael Lauranzano at Ngarambe?s arraignment. “Lu asked him three times directly if he knew anyone involved in the case and three times he denied knowing them.”Arias and Brito both acknowledged knowing who Ngarambe was, Collins said, and Brito told his attorney Ngarambe had said hello to him in the courtroom lobby that morning.Salem Police conducted an investigation and found that the potential juror was listed as a friend of Brito on Facebook and that Arias was listed as a follower of Ngarambe on Twitter.?This was obviously an atrocious attempt to infiltrate the jury system in a case his friends are involved in,” Collins said.He also attended Salem High School with the three co-defendants, Collins said.Ngarambe?s court-appointed attorney James Craig argued that Ngarambe has over 4,600 Facebook friends and numerous Twitter followers because he sometimes works as a promoter for clubs.?It?s a stretch to say he is close friends with everyone he is friends with on Facebook,” Craig said. “He has compiled a large list of followers as a means of generating income as a promoter.”Friedholm told police he was concerned one of the potential jurors was lying to him, according to a Salem Police report.Friedholm saw Ngarambe make eye contact and nod at Arias as he came into the courtroom, the report said, and became increasingly concerned when he did not raise his hand after Lu asked the potential jurors if they knew anyone related to the case.Craig argued Ngarambe was confused by the wording of the question, and said he thought the judge was asking if he was “friends” with the defendants, which he claims he is not.?He ?knows? them in the sense that he recognized their faces, but they are in no way friends,” Craig said.Collins argued that Ngarambe?s offense falls under the charge of intimidating a witness because it impacted the administration of justice by misleading the judge and lawyers involved. Lauranzano agreed, calling the offense “very serious.”?This matter will be aggressively pursued by the District Attorney?s Office and will likely result in a conviction and jail time,” Collins said. He also noted that the DA?s office may charge Ngarambe with perjury at a later time.A conviction of intimidating a witness could result in 10 years in state prison, according to the arrest report. Ngarambe is due back in court for a pre-trial hearing on April 17.Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].