Morris County officials announce that a jury has found Andrew Pena, 54, guilty of Corrupting a Jury, Conspiracy to Corrupt a Jury, Obstruction and Conspiracy to Commit Obstruction.
According to county officials, the charges arise from an incident that occurred in November 2015 while Pena was on trial for Aggravated Sexual Assault and related offenses that occurred in 2007.
Officials stated that during the pendency of the November 2015 trial, an investigation began into attempts by Pena to influence that jury and obstruct the administration of law.
The investigation ultimately revealed that Pena had conspired with another individual, Michael Campbell, formerly of Wharton, to distribute information that was previously deemed inadmissible during the trial in an effort to influence the jury.
According to the investigation, confidential police reports, provided to Pena in accordance with the Rules of Court, were duplicated, altered, and then disseminated in the vicinity of the Morris County Courthouse.
According to officials, in 2015, both Pena and Campbell were charged in connection with the alleged jury tampering incident.
County officials stated that in February 2016, Campbell entered a guilty plea to Obstruction related to the incident. The charges against Campbell were ultimately dismissed in 2018 following his death.
The charges against Pena were tried before the Hon. Ralph E. Amirata and a jury between December 9 and December 16.
According to county officials, the jury returned its verdict on December 16. Pena is scheduled to be sentenced for jury tampering and related offenses on February 25, 2022.
He is currently serving a 29 year, 4-month sentence of incarceration stemming from the previous convictions for Aggravated Sexual Assault and related crimes. He remains in custody at this time.