A split jury caused High Court Justice Vicki-Ann Ellis to order a new trial for Sherman Williams and Jevon Demming, who are accused of attempted murder, according to Mr. Williams’ attorney, Stephen Daniels.
As a result, the matter has been pushed back to the October Assizes.
Jury members started deliberating around 1 p.m. on Wednesday after Ms. Ellis summarised the case, but by 7 p.m. they still had not reached a decision.
For serious offences such as attempted murder, judges typically instruct the jury to attempt to render a unanimous or near-unanimous verdict in order to increase the legitimacy of the ruling.
Though it wasn’t made clear what the guilty-not guilty split was between the members, it apparently wasn’t to the satisfaction of the judge.
Messrs. Williams and Demming are accused of attempting to kill Neil St. Rose outside of a bar on Virgin Gorda on Sept. 30, 2012. According to the allegations, Mr. Demming punched the alleged victim and made him fall to his knees, and then Mr. Williams held a pistol to his neck and shot him.
The trial, which started on June 18, included testimony from three witnesses, two police officers, and a doctor.