Fort Dix trial's sequestered jury a rarity

from

Philadelphia

CAMDEN, N.J. (Map, News) - A jury considering the case of five New Jersey men accused of plotting an attack on the Army's Fort Dix has finished its first day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

On Wednesday afternoon, the jury asked a judge for transcripts of testimony from government informant Besnik Bakalli on days government lawyers questioned him. Bakalli said the suspects used a trip to Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains to train for waging a holy war.

The suspects face life in prison if they're convicted of the most serious charges, which include conspiracy to kill military personnel and attempted murder.

Defense lawyers told jurors their clients - all foreign-born Muslims who lived for years in Cherry Hill, N.J. - were not seriously planning anything.