Jury fails to reach verdict in Erie man's gun trial

Source: Erie Times-News, Pa.迷你倉價錢July 26--Erie County prosecutors had hoped that the evidence presented during a two-day trial would prove that Jermar Phillips illegally possessed a gun that officers found on the night a man was shot in the leg on Erie's west side.But the jury of seven men and five women couldn't make a decision.The jury deliberated for six and a half hours over two days before telling Erie County Judge John Garhart on Thursday morning that they could not reach a verdict in Phillips' trial on a felony count of carrying a firearm without a license.The jury announced its impasse moments after they had sent Garhart a question asking him if the charge had to be related to a specific firearm or a firearm in general, or if the charge referred only to the "blue firearm" that was the basis of the Erie police case.Garhart said the charge related only to the gun at the center of the case.Erie County First Assistant District Attorney Robert Sambroak, who prosecuted the case, said his office will try the case again.Lawyer Gene Placidi, who represented Phillips, said he was disappointed a verdict wasn't reached.No one was ever charged with shooting Marco Da迷你倉庫idson, and police never definitively linked a gun to the incident. But they seized two guns during their investigation of the Aug. 9 shooting, including one they said they found under the seat of a car that was seen leaving the scene of the shooting and was stopped by officers a few blocks away.Police testified during the trial that Phillips, 32, was in the passenger seat of the car, and the gun was found under that seat. A check of the gun determined that it had been stolen, and police also charged Phillips with receiving stolen property.That charge was dismissed during trial.Sambroak also presented testimony from a man who said he witnessed the shooting, though he could not clearly see or identify the people involved. Garhart challenged the man's recollection of events with a statement he had given police on the morning of the shooting, which did not include some details that the man brought up at trial.TIM HAHN can be reached at 870-1731 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNhahn.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Erie Times-News (Erie, Pa.) Visit the Erie Times-News (Erie, Pa.) at www.GoErie.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存