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Jury begins deliberations in smoke shop case 

The cases against seven Narragansett Indians arrested during a state police raid on a tribal smoke shop are in the hands of a Superior Court jury.

Seven women and five men deliberated about four hours yesterday afternoon after receiving more than an hour of instructions from Judge Susan E. McGuirl.

“You are to make this decision based on the evidence and the facts,” McGuirl said. Race, sympathy, prejudice or compassion do not play any role, she said.

In all, jurors will weigh 17 misdemeanor counts against seven tribal members, including the tribe’s leader, Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas.

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