The federal case against State Representative Larry Inman is now in the hands of the jury after five days of arguments, questioning and testimony.
Inman is charged with attempted extortion, soliciting a bribe and lying to the FBI.
The government says the Williamsburg republican tried to bribe a carpenter’s union for $30,000 around his vote for the prevailing wage initiative in June 2018.
Much of the defense has centered around the blurred lines of campaign contributions and bribes and then complicated by an opioid addiction by Rep. Inman that clouded his judgement.
When everything wrapped up on Day 4 on Friday it wasn’t clear if there were going to be anymore witnesses from the defense. Once the Rep. Inman finished off his testimony Monday morning, two defense witnesses took the stand. Two of Inman’s former doctors that spoke heavily on Inman’s previous medical history and then also the prescription pills he was given that he later became addicted to and entered rehab for.
Those were the pills that the defense says clouded his judgement and his memory when it came to these texts with the carpenter’s union.
After those witnesses, it went to closing arguments for both sides. Both attorneys spoke for about an hour directly to the jury on why they should take their side and then they turned the case over to the jury.
“We’re really happy that the proofs came in like they did the representative got his chance to tell his story,” says Chris Cooke, Inman’s attorney, “I think the case went really really well. It’s just hard to know what a jury will do but we’re really comfortable with our position and what we presented to the jury so hopefully this long nightmare for Representative Inman will end.”
They jury got the case at about 1:30 PM and did not come to a verdict Monday so it will all roll over to Tuesday morning at 8:30. The jury will have all day to come to a verdict or it will roll into Wednesday.
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