FILE - In this July 2, 2013, file photo, Shawn Custis, center right, is escorted from an arraignment hearing by Sheriff Armando Fontoura, left, Sgt. Marco Vulpi, center left, and sheriff's officer Curtis Jones, right, at Essex County Superior Court in Newark, N.J. A jury began deliberating charges against Custis on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, including attempted murder and robbery, related to a 2013 home invasion caught on a home security video. The Newark, N.J., resident's lawyer says a police officer's racist remarks captured on the video tainted the investigation. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
June 01, 2016 - 2:14 PM
NEWARK, N.J. - The Latest on jury deliberations in the "nanny cam" trial (all times local):
5:10 p.m.
A New Jersey man has been found guilty of aggravated assault and other charges for a brutal 2013 home invasion caught on a nanny cam.
The jury on Wednesday acquitted Newark resident Shawn Custis of attempted murder.
The home security video showed a man punching and kicking a woman, then throwing her down the basement stairs. The woman's young daughter was sitting nearby when the attack happened, and her 18-month-old son was asleep upstairs.
Custis' attorney said the man on the video wasn't his client. The lawyer also argued during the trial that a responding white police officer's racist remarks about the black suspect that also were captured on the video tainted the investigation.
The 45-year-old Custis could face up to life in prison.
___
9:35 a.m.
The spectre of potential police bias hangs over the trial of a New Jersey man accused of attempted murder, robbery and other crimes for a brutal 2013 home invasion caught on a "nanny cam."
Shawn Custis' lawyer says a white police officer's racist remarks that were captured on the video tainted the investigation.
The Millburn police officer testified last month that he made the comments. He also said he didn't question Custis, who is black, and didn't collect evidence during the investigation.
A jury of nine blacks and three whites began deliberations Tuesday.
In the video, the attacker punches and kicks the woman for several minutes as her young daughter sits on the couch.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016