Melee erupts in courtroom after guilty verdict in St. Paul sex trafficking case

  By Elizabeth Mohr / St. Paul Pioneer Press As soon as the word "guilty" escaped the judge's lips in a St. Paul sex trafficking case Tuesday afternoon, spittle flew, clumps of hair were pulled out and about a dozen deputies drew their stun guns. Courtroom decorum devolved into utter chaos. Defendant Kauser Mohamoud Yusuf, who is nine months pregnant, collapsed to the floor crying as she was found guilty of prostituting a 15-year-old girl, setting off the shocking chain of events on the 14th floor of the Ramsey County Courthouse. As soon as Yusuf hit the floor, co-defendant Johnathan Bernard Edwards -- often seen holding Yusuf's hand throughout the proceedings -- yelled "Bitch" and spat in the prosecutor's face as he jumped on a table, lunging at her. Several Ramsey County sheriff's deputies then tackled Edwards, pulling him off the table top and onto the floor as he continued yelling. More deputies ran into the courtroom as the gallery erupted into screams and yells. Many of the spectators were yelling obscenities and pointing at the jury, decrying the verdict and calling it racist. (The two defendants are black.) Deputies attempted to control the crowd, most with their Tasers drawn, as court employees were hustled into District Judge Joy Bartscher's chambers. Edwards, 25, continued to yell; Yusuf, 22, moaned "Why? Why?," saying she had children, as the pair were handcuffed and moved from the courtroom to holding cells. The Eden Prairie couple were convicted of one charge each of first-degree sex trafficking of a minor. They were accused of taking lewd photos of a 15-year-old girl, posting them online and arranging for men to have sex with her. As deputies moved the angry crowd of about 10 people into the hallway, at least one person shoved an officer and the chaos began anew in the hallway. The judge's clerk ran over and locked the door. At least one juror was crying. Those who remained in the room stood, nerves frayed. One Ramsey County attorney, who had been seated in the audience, said she called 911 to request help from St. Paul police. Bartscher, coming from behind her bench to speak to attorneys and others in the room, sidestepped a clump of Edwards' hair on the floor where he had been tackled. "I want him to be charged," shaken prosecutor Karen Kugler said, wanting it on the record. "I think the jurors will all want escorts to their vehicles," Bartscher said. "They are understandably terrified, as we all are." The defense and prosecuting attorneys agreed that the defendants had essentially waived their rights to appear for the remaining proceedings, per state law about "conduct that results in expulsion from the courtroom," Bartscher said. Several minutes later, after Bartscher formally closed the hearing about 6 p.m., Kugler said in the hallway outside, "I've never experienced or seen anything to the degree of disruption that happened today," still stroking a spot in her hair where Edwards' saliva had landed. "The fact that he acted out is disturbing, but perhaps not totally surprising." Asked about the possibility of additional charges for Edwards, Kugler added, "It's a very high likelihood. You can't spit at a court officer." Edwards' lawyer, Christopher Zipko, said, "This was a first," but did say it wasn't completely unexpected. "I heard rumblings in the courthouse that there was a lot of threatening behavior," he said. "The judge was concerned about this from the start of the case." Bartscher, who had warned the courtroom against outbursts before announcing the verdicts, declined to comment on the chaos after the hearing. Several jurors also declined to comment as deputies escorted them from the courtroom. There were about a dozen deputies in the courtroom. Sheriff's Cmdr. Jay Maher did not have an exact number. Maher said one deputy suffered a scratch to a hand, but otherwise there were no injuries. He said the disruptive gallery members were escorted from the building and allowed to go on their way. He said he was not aware of any plans to charge them. Tuesday's verdict came after about 10 hours of deliberation. According to a criminal complaint, an investigation began Nov. 24, 2013, when Backpage.com got an email from the 15-year-old girl saying people had taken pictures of her and posted them on the website. "The people that posted them have been making me sleep with the guys that called im only 15 years old. ... Please help," the unedited email said. The note referred to a specific ad. Investigators traced the ad to Edwards and Yusuf and went to an address in St. Paul the next day. The girl was not found, but Yusuf was there. Officers noted a back room of the house contained a blow-up mattress and scattered clothing, including thong underwear, the complaint said. The 15-year-old was eventually found and questioned. She said she met Edwards and Yusuf in St. Paul around July 2013 and they photographed her in lingerie. The photos were placed onBackpage.com in the adult escort section, according to court documents and witness testimony. Yusuf told police she knew the girl, but "generally denied engaging in sex trafficking," the complaint said. Edwards denied knowing the victim. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27.
 By Elizabeth Mohr / St. Paul Pioneer PressAs soon as the word "guilty" escaped the judge's lips in a St. Paul sex trafficking case Tuesday afternoon, spittle flew, clumps of hair were pulled out and about a dozen deputies drew their stun guns.Courtroom decorum devolved into utter chaos.Defendant Kauser Mohamoud Yusuf, who is nine months pregnant, collapsed to the floor crying as she was found guilty of prostituting a 15-year-old girl, setting off the shocking chain of events on the 14th floor of the Ramsey County Courthouse.As soon as Yusuf hit the floor, co-defendant Johnathan Bernard Edwards -- often seen holding Yusuf's hand throughout the proceedings -- yelled "Bitch" and spat in the prosecutor's face as he jumped on a table, lunging at her.Several Ramsey County sheriff's deputies then tackled Edwards, pulling him off the table top and onto the floor as he continued yelling.More deputies ran into the courtroom as the gallery erupted into screams and yells. Many of the spectators were yelling obscenities and pointing at the jury, decrying the verdict and calling it racist. (The two defendants are black.)Deputies attempted to control the crowd, most with their Tasers drawn, as court employees were hustled into District Judge Joy Bartscher's chambers.Edwards, 25, continued to yell; Yusuf, 22, moaned "Why? Why?," saying she had children, as the pair were handcuffed and moved from the courtroom to holding cells.The Eden Prairie couple were convicted of one charge each of first-degree sex trafficking of a minor.They were accused of taking lewd photos of a 15-year-old girl, posting them online and arranging for men to have sex with her.As deputies moved the angry crowd of about 10 people into the hallway, at least one person shoved an officer and the chaos began anew in the hallway. The judge's clerk ran over and locked the door.At least one juror was crying. Those who remained in the room stood, nerves frayed. One Ramsey County attorney, who had been seated in the audience, said she called 911 to request help from St. Paul police.Bartscher, coming from behind her bench to speak to attorneys and others in the room, sidestepped a clump of Edwards' hair on the floor where he had been tackled."I want him to be charged," shaken prosecutor Karen Kugler said, wanting it on the record."I think the jurors will all want escorts to their vehicles," Bartscher said. "They are understandably terrified, as we all are."The defense and prosecuting attorneys agreed that the defendants had essentially waived their rights to appear for the remaining proceedings, per state law about "conduct that results in expulsion from the courtroom," Bartscher said.Several minutes later, after Bartscher formally closed the hearing about 6 p.m., Kugler said in the hallway outside, "I've never experienced or seen anything to the degree of disruption that happened today," still stroking a spot in her hair where Edwards' saliva had landed. "The fact that he acted out is disturbing, but perhaps not totally surprising."Asked about the possibility of additional charges for Edwards, Kugler added, "It's a very high likelihood. You can't spit at a court officer."Edwards' lawyer, Christopher Zipko, said, "This was a first," but did say it wasn't completely unexpected."I heard rumblings in the courthouse that there was a lot of threatening behavior," he said. "The judge was concerned about this from the start of the case."Bartscher, who had warned the courtroom against outbursts before announcing the verdicts, declined to comment on the chaos after the hearing.Several jurors also declined to comment as deputies escorted them from the courtroom.There were about a dozen deputies in the courtroom. Sheriff's Cmdr. Jay Maher did not have an exact number.Maher said one deputy suffered a scratch to a hand, but otherwise there were no injuries. He said the disruptive gallery members were escorted from the building and allowed to go on their way. He said he was not aware of any plans to charge them.Tuesday's verdict came after about 10 hours of deliberation.According to a criminal complaint, an investigation began Nov. 24, 2013, when Backpage.com got an email from the 15-year-old girl saying people had taken pictures of her and posted them on the website."The people that posted them have been making me sleep with the guys that called im only 15 years old. ... Please help," the unedited email said. The note referred to a specific ad.Investigators traced the ad to Edwards and Yusuf and went to an address in St. Paul the next day. The girl was not found, but Yusuf was there. Officers noted a back room of the house contained a blow-up mattress and scattered clothing, including thong underwear, the complaint said.The 15-year-old was eventually found and questioned. She said she met Edwards and Yusuf in St. Paul around July 2013 and they photographed her in lingerie. The photos were placed onBackpage.com in the adult escort section, according to court documents and witness testimony.Yusuf told police she knew the girl, but "generally denied engaging in sex trafficking," the complaint said. Edwards denied knowing the victim.A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27.