(Robin Huebner/KVLY) Fargo, N.D. (AP) A juror says her racial prejudices influenced her vote to convict a man accused of engaging in a riot at the Red River Valley Fair last summer.

Thirty-six-year-old Becky Rettig of West Fargo says she regretted her vote hours after a Cass County jury convicted Mevludin Hidanovic (MEV'-loo-din hih-DON'-oh-vik) for engaging in the June 24th brawl.

She told his told his lawyer about it when he visited the bar where she works.

A jury had convicted Hidanovic in early January of engaging in a riot while armed. The 29-year-old man, who's a native of Bosnia, was sentenced to prison for 18 months.

Hidanovic denied having anything to do with the fight, which injured at least five people. Authorities say one man was struck on the head with a baseball bat.

Rettig says in an affidavit that she was the only juror who originally voted him guilty during the first jury polling. She says she convinced other jurors to convict him.

She says she told fellow jurors that Bosnians had stolen from her business and then lied about it.

Hidanovic's trial attorney, Ross Brandborg, has filed a motion for a new trial.

Assistant Cass County state's attorney Mark Boening says believes most of Rettig's affidavit is impermissible under rules governing evidence and jury statements.

But Boening says he's uncertain how to look into her claims that she told jurors about Bosnians stealing from her and discussing race "in a negative way." (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 03-27-07 0751CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list