Juror Jennifer Mercado Turns Defendant in Credit Card Case

(March 17) -- A juror in a New York City credit card theft case was arrested and jailed mid-trial, accused of stealing a fellow juror's credit card and embarking on shopping trips during lunch breaks.

Jennifer Mercado, 20, was sitting on the Bronx trial of Warren Stewart, accusing of grand larceny and possession of a stolen credit card, when she was nabbed by the same prosecutors for allegedly lifting the credit card of a fellow juror, John Postrik, 49.

Prosecutors allegedly caught Mercado through security video from stores near the Bronx Hall of Justice. She was caught after Postrik noted that his card was stolen and saw that the charges on his statement corresponded to the same stores from which Mercado would return to the courthouse with shopping bags.

She was removed from the jury and arrested on March 12 and charged with grand larceny, stolen property, identity theft and unlawful use of a credit card. She faces four years in jail.

Mercado admits she charged $500 worth of handbags, jeans and Nike Air Jordans on Postrik's American Express card, but she claims she did it with Postrik's blessing.

"The guy did give me permission to use his credit card," she told the New York Daily News. "He came on to me."

She added: "It's a he-said, she-said situation. In court, they will find out he's lying."

Postrik declined to comment on the case, citing a request from prosecutors that he not speak.

According to court documents, Postrik's card disappeared from his coat on March 8 and was used the same day at a store during the time that corresponded with jurors' lunch hour. As Mercado returned to court weighed down with shopping bags, Postrik noted the stores at which she was shopping corresponded to those listed on his credit card statement.

He reported the theft to the judge in the case on March 10, pointing a finger at Mercado and telling the judge: "It's the person that came back with the baggage."

During recess from the Stewart credit card theft trial, Assistant District Attorney Jacob Kaplan investigated Postrik's claim, checking security videos at shops and finding video that appeared to show Mercado shopping with Postrik's card, according to court transcripts.

She was arrested after a final attempt to allegedly use Postrik's card, in which she dropped the card and walked out of the store after a clerk asked her for identification.

The jury found Stewart guilty of burglary but acquitted him on the stolen credit charge.