SAN ANTONIO – After two days and more than 14 hours of deliberating, a jury was deadlocked and a mistrial was declared Monday in the murder trial of Luis Alvarado.
Alvarado was charged in the Sept. 20, 2021, shooting death of his neighbor, Santos Cedillo.
Prosecutors said Alvarado got into an altercation with Cedillo outside the apartment complex they lived at.
Testimony revealed Cedillo went up to Alvarado and wanted to fight him after Alvarado allegedly pointed a gun at him.
Video shown in court shows Alvarado and Cedillo arguing in the parking lot and then Alvarado shooting him.
The defense argued Alvarado feared for his life and wanted to be left alone.
After about eight hours of deliberating, the jury wrote a question to the court asking what happens if they can’t agree on the verdict.
Presiding Judge Melisa Skinner issued an “Allen Charge,” which forced the jury to continue deliberations.
A few hours later, the jury was still deadlocked but told the court that some progress had been made and Skinner told them to keep deliberating.
After a couple more hours, the jury was still deadlocked and a mistrial was declared.
The district attorney’s office could retry the case, but no word if that will happen.
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