United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED April 19, 2023 No. 21-30666 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk

United States of America,

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Rodney P. Gemar,

Defendant—Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana USDC No. 2:17-CR-181-2

Before Richman, Chief Judge, and King and Higginson, Circuit Judges. Priscilla Richman, Chief Judge: Rodney P. Gemar was a local law-enforcement agent who worked as a taskforce officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Gemar was charged with stealing money and property from arrestees, as well as destroying evidence of those activities. After a seven-day trial, a jury found Gemar guilty on all counts. Following the verdict, Gemar asserted that one of the jurors had failed to disclose his acquaintance with Gemar and Gemar’s wife, and Gemar moved for a new trial on the basis of juror bias. Without Case: 21-30666 Document: 00516718256 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/19/2023

No. 21-30666

holding an evidentiary hearing, the district court denied the motion and sentenced Gemar to twenty-seven months of imprisonment. We remand for the district court to hold an evidentiary hearing on the question of juror bias. I Gemar worked as a police officer for the Hammond, Louisiana Police Department and in 2009 was deputized as a taskforce officer with the DEA. Gemar worked with Chad Scott, a special agent with the DEA, and other taskforce officers. The Government alleged that from 2009 to 2016 Gemar and others stole property and money from arrestees, and that in 2016 Gemar destroyed evidence of those activities. Gemar and his co-defendant, Scott, were charged with conspiracy to convert property of another by an officer or employee of the United States and remove property to prevent seizure in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; conversion of property of another by an officer or employee of the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 654; and removal of property to prevent seizure in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a). During voir dire, the district court asked the prospective jurors, “The defendants in this case are Mr. Chad Scott and Mr. Rodney Gemar. . . . Do any of you know Mr. Gemar or any members of his family? Have any of you ever heard of Mr. Gemar?” The juror now accused of bias, Juror 27, did not respond to the question. The district court also asked if the members of the venire could “think of anything else which might have some bearing on your qualifications or competence as jurors” or knew “of any reason why you think that you should not sit on this case and render a fair, just, honest, and impartial verdict?” Juror 27 did not respond.

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Two months after trial, counsel for Gemar “learned that Juror 27 in Mr. Gemar’s trial failed to provide honest and complete information during voir dire.” According to Gemar, “Juror 27 was a close fr