Judge declares mistrial in ‘Thunder From Down Under’ robbery case

A Clark County judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in the case of a man accused of trying to steal props, costumes and underwear from the burly male dancers of “Thunder From Down Under.”

Just before a lunch break Wednesday in the trial of Joey Kadmiri, one of the jurors said he had seen a television news report about the case the previous night. He then told the judge that some jurors had discussed “gray areas” in the case.

Defense attorney Josh Tomsheck immediately filed a motion for a mistrial, which District Judge Jerry Tao granted.

“You cannot have a group of jurors that discuss the quality and quantity of the evidence,” Tomsheck told the judge.

Tao replied, “It sounds like the comments favored you, but nonetheless they shouldn’t be even talking about this.”

Prosecutors said 24-year-old Kadmiri somehow sneaked backstage at the Excalibur show March 18 and rifled through the performers’ dressing room. When the dancers confronted him, Kadmiri became violent, pulled out a gun and fired a shot during a scuffle, prosecutors said.

While no one was struck, the show’s emcee, Matthew Fardell, suffered powder burns to his face and still has occasional ringing in his left ear.

Through questioning of several witnesses, Tomsheck tried to show that items Kadmiri was carrying around the Excalibur had not been stolen. Kadmiri was donning a Sydney Fire Department shirt the dancers wear, but the same shirt can be purchased in a gift shop.

But Kadmiri also was wearing two pairs of underwear — teal boxer briefs and a black thong — that belonged to the dancers, prosecutors said.

Authorities found 2.1 grams of methamphetamine on Kadmiri, who reportedly said he was high at the time of his arrest.

Outside the courtroom Wednesday, the juror who saw the news report told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “Both sides made a great case, and it was going to be a tough one to decide.”

Other jurors declined to comment.

Kadmiri faces several charges, including burglary, robbery with a deadly weapon, battery with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm, and possession of a controlled substance.

“I don’t want to win unless we’re playing fair,” Tomsheck said in his motion for a mistrial. “I don’t want to try this case twice, but we can’t possibly go forward with this group.”

Prosecutors did not object.

“This is bad,” prosecutor Jeff Rogan said of the jury discussing evidence. “I agree with Mr. Tomsheck. I don’t think we can go forward.”

Rogan later told reporters, “We’re disappointed, but we understand what happened.”

With cameras and reporters in the gallery for much of the high-profile trial that started Monday, Tao said he was not “super concerned” that the juror mentioned to other members of the panel that the trial appeared in a news broadcast.

Whenever he released the jurors, Tao reminded them not to read or watch news reports about the case and to avoid social media referring to the case.

“My admonishment is: Don’t discuss the facts of this case with each other, and don’t reach any conclusion about this case. And technically, whether they’re on TV or not, is not a factor in the case,” Tao said. “However, once they’re saying things like ‘it’s a gray area’ … that’s a violation of the ‘don’t discuss the facts of this case with each other.’”

The juror who saw the news clip said he did not think the broadcast would have affected his decision. He said he stepped out of the room as soon as he noticed the report.

“I know the news makes mistakes quite a bit, and we’re not supposed to regard anything outside (the trial) that we see,” said the juror, who declined to give his name. “I would have just taken evidence that we saw in court into consideration.”

Tao scheduled a status hearing in the case for July 17.

Contact reporter David Ferrara at 702-380-1039 or dferrara@reviewjournal.com. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker.