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Accused California burglar killed hours after jury mistake set him free
California burglary suspect stabbed after mistaken not-guilty verdict
(35 minutes later)
A jury's confusion over how to fulfill their duty must have felt like a ticket to freedom for Bobby Lee Pearson, who was cleared of a burglary charge and set free.
A defendant in a Central California burglary case walked out of a courtroom a free man – after a jury mistakenly signed a not-guilty verdict form – only to be killed hours later.
Unable to reach a verdict, Pearson's jury mistakenly signed a not-guilty form Wednesday — despite the judge later learning jurors had actually deadlocked. After his release, Pearson, 37, went to a relative's house and within hours he was killed in a fight.
The flabbergasted judge said on Wednesday he had no choice but to order defendant Bobby Lee Pearson to be released from jail because the not-guilty verdict had been put on the record, the Fresno Bee reported.
William Terrence, who prosecuted the case, said that despite the bizarre chain of events that led to Pearson's release, the man he tried sending to prison didn't deserve to die.
After it was too late, jurors told the judge they were hung on the charges against Pearson. Prosecutors might have had an opportunity to retry Pearson in the case of a hung jury.
"There's not a death penalty on a burglary," Terrence said. "I'm not sitting here thinking he got what he deserved."
"I can't believe it," superior court judge W Kent Hamlin said after he ordered Pearson to be set free.
Pearson and a co-defendant, Terrell Minnieweather, were accused of burglarizing an apartment last year and stealing a video system and a gun. The homeowner allegedly caught the intruders and wrestled with one of them.
Hours later, Pearson was stabbed to death after going to a home to get some clothing and belongings, Fresno police Sergeant James Rios said. He apparently got into a fight early on Thursday morning with his sister's boyfriend, who Rios said then stabbed him.
Jurors returned a guilty verdict against the two and the mistaken not-guilty verdict against Pearson before lunch Wednesday.
The two apparently had a long history of problems. The boyfriend's name has not been released.
It was too late when the judge finally learned that the jury was unable to reach a verdict, stalling on an 8-4 vote in favor of guilt. Prosecutors might have had an opportunity to retry Pearson, but by then, changing the verdict form would have exposed Pearson to double jeopardy.
Judge Hamlin said he could not change the verdict form because double jeopardy was already attached.
After being released from jail, Pearson went to the home of his sister, Lasandra Jackson, to get some clothing and belongings. Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer said Pearson apparently got into a fight with his sister's boyfriend, 35-year-old Willie Gray.
"This has never happened to me in more than 100 jury trials that I have done," he said.
The two had a history of problems, said Dyer, adding that investigators believe Gray killed Pearson, who was found dead in the street with a chest wound from a knife or gun and a cut on his stomach. Investigators found a steak knife near the body, Dyer said.
Pearson and two co-defendants were accused of burglarising an apartment last year and stealing a video system and a gun. The homeowner allegedly caught the intruders and wrestled with one of them.
Gray was arrested and treated for injuries to his hands before being booked on suspicion of murder, said Dyer, adding that Pearson might still be alive if it weren't for the jury's "mishap." Pearson had a long criminal past, Dyer said.
Jurors returned a guilty verdict against Pearson's co-defendant, Terrel Minniweather, and the mistaken not guilty verdict against Pearson before lunch on Wednesday.
Terrence said he is still trying to understand the jury's confusion. He said he explained the verdict forms in closing arguments, and so did the judge.
Hamlin asked the jury whether that was in fact its verdict against Pearson, and all 12 nodded yes, the Bee reported.
"Apparently, the message wasn't quite received," Terrence said.
The jurors were then asked to return after lunch for a potential second phase of the trial. The confusion over the verdict against Pearson came to light during lunch, when one juror told court staff that he had voted to find Pearson guilty, said Linden Lindahl, an attorney for Minniweather.
In a deadlock, jurors should have sent a note to the judge.
Jurors said they were confused by the forms, one of which was for a guilty verdict and the other for a not guilty verdict.
Terrence said Hamlin polled each juror individually to verify Minnieweather's guilty verdict. Turning to Pearson's case, the judge asked the jurors as a group if that was its not-guilty verdict in Pearson's case.
One juror said there was no form they could sign that indicated the jury was deadlocked.
"No one stood up and said, 'Hey, wait a minute. That's not my verdict,'" Terrence said. "They nodded along."
Lindahl said he was surprised by the jury's confusion since the judge "did everything by the book”.
Terrence said that it wasn't a mistake to poll the jury as a group. The evidence against Pearson wasn't as strong, and Terrence said he respected the jury's apparent not-guilty decision.
Jurors said they were confused by the forms, one of which was for a guilty verdict and the other for a not guilty verdict. One juror said there was no form they could sign to indicate a deadlock.
"It is bizarre," said Eugene Hyman, who retired from the Santa Clara County Superior Court after serving for 20 years on the bench. "But I can't find fault with anyone."
Hyman, who had no involvement in Pearson's case, said during trials, he would ask each juror whether the verdict read by the clerk was indeed their verdict. He said there's nothing wrong with polling jurors en masse.
Hyman said the judge had no choice but to acquit Pearson if Hamlin ordered the not guilty verdict "recorded" immediately after the jurors nodded in agreement with the verdict.
Judges are required to poll jurors after every verdict is read in criminal cases, Hyman said.
