News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Patrick Cherry, defense attorney for Brad Srebnik, poses like he is holding a gun during cross-examination of Josh Wirgau on Wednesday. Wirgau was charged alongside Srebnik in the alleged murders of Brynn Bills and Abby Hill in 2021.

ALPENA — The defense attorney for Brad Srebnik, an Alpena man charged with murder, made a motion for a mistrial after a witness inadvertently shared information about a tattoo his client has.

A 26th Circuit Court judge, Alan Curtis, denied the mistrial request, and the proceeding continued forward, despite the objection from Srebnik’s lawyers.

Srebnik is charged in the deaths of Mio teen Brynn Bills and Alpena woman Abby Hill which occurred in 2021. Charges against him include two counts of premeditated murder, weapons charges, and disinterment and mutilation of a body. He faces life in prison but denies the allegations.

Patrick Cherry made the mistrial motion after witness Jessica Shelton was answering a question while on the witness stand and revealed Srebnik intended to get a 1% logo tattoo on his neck covered up.

A 1% tattoo typically signifies affiliation with outlaw motorcycle gangs or clubs. The term 1% originated from a statement made by the American Motorcyclist Association in the 1960s, which stated that 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens, implying that the remaining 1% were outlaws. This led some outlaw motorcycle clubs to adopt the 1% symbol as a badge of honor and defiance. It’s important to note that the meaning of tattoos can vary based on individual interpretation and context.

Cherry told Curtis the simple fact shared by Shelton while testifying could have a large impact on the jury, especially those who knew the tattoo’s significance. He said he wanted a mistrial because the new information would make the jury biased toward his client and consider Srebnik guilty of the crimes he is accused of even before all of the testimony and evidence is produced.

“I think this significantly taints the outcome of any decision the jury provides,” Cherry told Curtis.

Assistant Attorney General Danielle Hagaman-Clark said Cherry’s claims were exaggerated and didn’t believe a mistrial was warranted. She said if the defense had concerns about the tattoo being mentioned inadvertently, it should have been added to the list of things she says the defense is trying to keep off limits during testimony.

“We don’t even know if they know about the one-percenters and to me, this is absolutely ridiculous and nothing more than an extreme measure,” she said.

“This seems like a gross overstatement, to have a mistrial based on this one statement this one witness made,” Hagaman-Clark said. “If this was such a concern for the defense, perhaps a motion in limine that lists out all of the things they are trying to keep out of this trial.”

A motion in limine is a motion made to the court before a jury has been selected in either a civil or a criminal case. Motions in limine ask the court to order the opposing party, its counsel, and witnesses not to talk about, or even mention, certain facts or evidence in the presence or hearing of the jury.

Before denial of the mistrial, Curtis said that Srebnik and his friend Josh Wirgeau, who was also charged in the deaths of the two women, were identified as drug dealers from testimony earlier in the trial. He said he believes few of the jurors would know what the identifier is or what it stands for. Those that may know, will likely link the “outlaw” tag to drug trafficking and not murder.

Court is slated to begin again this morning at 8:30 a.m. in 26th Circuit Court. The dive team that retrieved parts of a pistol the prosecution believes was used to murder Hill is expected to testify.