A defense attorney is asking for a mistrial after some odd behavior by a juror involving a zombie-related sign and dried insects.

Oak Harbor resident Jeromy Ladwig, 37, is on trial for vehicular homicide. He is accused of causing a May 2, 2016, collision on North Whidbey that killed 18-year-old Keesha Harden of Coupeville. The trial began last week and is expected to wrap up this week.

Much of Monday morning in court was dedicated to figuring out what to do with a juror who was up to “shenanigans,” as defense attorney Charles Hamilton of Seattle described it.

The bailiff reported that last Thursday one of the jurors posted a sign on the door to the jury room that read “Department of Zombie Defense.” The bailiff instructed the man to take it down, but the juror later put it back up.

Hamilton argued that the sign could prejudice the jury. He said he’s never experienced anything similar at a trial before.

“It’s an insult to the court and the jury system,” he said.

“I ask for a retrial and that we get a better batch of people,” he added.

In addition to the sign, another juror drew an image of a gnome on a whiteboard while another was pulled over and ticketed by a state trooper who testified in the trial.

Chief Criminal Prosecutor Eric Ohme argued that a mistrial wasn’t necessary. He suggested that the judge question each juror individually about whether he or she saw the sign and the drawing and whether the juror felt it would affect his or her ability to remain impartial. Judge Vickie Churchill agreed.

But first Churchill brought in juror No. 7 and asked him why he put up the sign. The man explained that he went to downtown Coupeville to buy candy, saw the sign and felt that it was “fitting” for the trial.

“I thought it was a good sign to put up,” he said.

The man said he put the sign back up after the bailiff asked him to take it down because he “paid money for that.”

Churchill reminded the juror that the jury members were instructed not to discuss the case with anyone else so that they would remain impartial while hearing the evidence. He said posting the sign was a “passive maneuver” and he thought it was OK since it didn’t involve talking.

“I never really wanted to be here in the first place,” he said.

Churchill admonished the man and excused him from the jury. He was replaced by the alternate.

On the way out of court, the juror placed a packet of dried crickets on the defense table. Hamilton said it was “very curious.”

Churchill called in the remaining jurors one by one and asked if they saw the sign and the whiteboard drawing. If they had, Churchill asked if they could remain impartial. Most of the jurors said they saw both; they all said they could remain impartial.

The whiteboard drawing was a gnome that a juror involved in painting rocks drew to show the others, jurors explained.

The juror who was pulled over by the trooper and ticketed for not wearing a seatbelt said the incident wouldn’t affect his impartiality.

Hamilton again argued that he was uncomfortable with continuing the trial with the current jury, but Churchill disagreed.

“I believe we have a fair and impartial jury,” she said.