Empty jury box area readied for members of the jury in the courtroom of Judge Vincent Gaughan at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. (Antonio Perez / Pool / Chicago Tribune)

At any point before March 2020, the trial of Glenn Whitmore, a 56-year-old accused of burglarizing a garage on the Southwest Side of Chicago, likely would have passed with little to no public attention. Instead, it marks the first jury trial within the Leighton Criminal Court Building since the COVID-19 pandemic forced operations to a halt one year ago.

Opening statements and testimony began Tuesday in Whitmore’s trial, one day after the court selected its first jury for a criminal trial since March 2020.

While it was the only in-person proceeding at the courthouse Tuesday, things nearly got derailed before they started.

The start of the trial was delayed at multiple points, most significantly when an alarm on Whitmore’s electronic monitoring ankle bracelet was triggered while the jury was present. Jurors were excused for more than an hour while court officials spoke with Cook County Sheriff’s deputies to resolve the error.

“Not in my wildest dreams I thought that that would happen,” Judge Arthur Hill said, adding that he signed off on an order Monday that was turned over to the Sheriff’s Office allowing Whitmore to appear in court Tuesday, meaning there was no reason for his alarm to be triggered. “That is something that should never happen.”

Whitmore’s defense attorneys asked for a mistrial, but Hill denied that request, reasoning the jurors likely thought the noise they heard was a cellphone ringing, rather than any electronic monitoring equipment.

Before that issue, Hill also questioned one female juror who gave a media interview Monday, though she was allowed to remain on the jury as it was determined she spoke with reporters before her selection.

Testimony and proceedings were limited to no more than five hours at a time without a break, and the large sixth-floor courtroom was augmented to allow for social distancing.

Ready to go for the first jury trial at 26th Street — note the socially distanced chairs. ⁦@CookCntyCourt⁩ pic.twitter.com/U1u6Ce4BkG

— Mary Wisniewski (@marywizchicago) March 22, 2021

In the case, a September 2019 burglary, Whitmore is alleged to have broken into a garage in the 4700 block of South La Crosse Avenue. Prosecutors on Tuesday said the owner of the garage saw Whitmore enter without permission and witnessed him taking an air compressor.

“He saw an opportunity and he took it,” Assistant State’s Attorney Rebecca Wiggers said regarding Whitmore during her opening remarks.

Whitmore’s attorney countered that the evidence presented at trial will only show that Whitmore was located at the property, not that he burglarized the garage.

The victim, Thomas Hampton, was the first witness called Tuesday. He testified he heard a strange noise in his garage in the middle of the night and confronted Whitmore — whom he identified in person in court — with a gun. Hampton said he ordered Whitmore to lay down on the ground until police arrived.

With the trial now underway, testimony is expected to conclude Wednesday with the case going to the jury for deliberations.

Contact Matt Masterson:@ByMattMasterson|[email protected]| (773) 509-5431