Results tagged “deadlock”

Could the fourth time be another charm? The jury deliberating the fate of John Gotti Jr.—whose past three federal trials have ended in mistrials—sent a note to Judge Kevin Castel yesterday reading, "We are unable to reach a verdict." Castel told the group to keep deliberating at first, but then sent them home for the weekend.

The jury deliberating the fate of Lillo Brancato Jr. told the judge they were deadlocked yesterday. The jury said, via a note, that their vote was 11 to 1; NY1 reports, "The judge re-read instructions on deliberation to the divided jury and advised the jurors to come back at 9:30 a.m. Friday to continue deliberating." Brancato faces murder charges for the 2005 shooting of off-duty police officer Daniel Enchautegui. Earlier yesterday, a juror was replaced—according to the Daily News, Marvin Gittens ignored the judge's directions and "took notes throughout the trial and researched the case on the internet." Another juror told the judge about Gittens' behavior. This the second juror to be replaced; two weeks ago, one left because he was arrested for "allegedly punching his teen-age stepson in the face."

Though the jury was deadlocked over whether the 205-pound Joseph Petcka deliberately killed a 7-pound cat, the Daily News spoke to a former girlfriend, who has experienced his anger directly: He slammed a door on her fingers, with one finger so badly injured it was partially severed. The woman, who speaks to women about domestic violence, says the prosecution never contacted her about testifying. they did find him not guilty of harassing the cat's owner, his then-girlfriend. Also, the Post reports the jurors might be called back to deliver the harassment verdict since a juror said he didn't realize they were allowed to deliver a partial verdict--and apparently the jury didn't tell the judge they had a verdict on harassment charge. As for holdout juror Francisco DeFlaviis, he asked reporters to respect his privacy.

The jury deciding the fate of Joseph Petcka, on trial for animal cruelty after he killed his girlfriend's declawed cat, is still at work after three days of deliberations and claims it was deadlocked. According to the Post, one juror told the judge he was "being 'coerced' by the other jurors," but after the meeting, " the jurors requested an easel, a "flip chart," colored markers and a roll of tape, ready to dig in again." They also want some testimony read back. Petcka, 205 pounds, claims the 7-pound cat provoked him, so he kicked the cat so seriously it had multiple broken bones, a lacerated tongue, and a chest full of blood. Petcka's lawyer was surprised at the long deliberation, saying, "The only time I've had jurors out this long is in murder cases." Perhaps he forgot his client killed a cat.

Jurors deliberating the animal cruelty case where Joseph Petcka is on trial for killing a domestic cat named Norman are deadlocked, according to the AP. "Manhattan jurors sent the state Supreme Court judge a note Tuesday, saying they are at an impasse after two days of deliberations," but the judge "ordered the jury to return" tomorrow morning. Petcka, 205 pounds, had been using a victim defense, claiming the 7-pound, declawed cat attacked him. His lawyer believes this means "at least one juror is insisting the prosecution proved its case," which is for felony animal cruelty.