A murder trial for a man accused in a 2019 shooting ended in a mistrial Thursday after the jury reported it was hopelessly deadlocked and unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
The case against Damartez Thruston, 24, will be retried at a later date unless a settlement is reached in the meantime. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 17, when a judge is expected to consider a motion to adjust bond and possibly set a new trial date.
Thruston is charged with murder in connection with the death of Kevin White, who was shot and killed on March 12, 2019, at a home on West Eighth Street. The trial began last Friday and included testimony through Wednesday before the jury began deliberating Thursday morning.
Shortly after noon Thursday, jurors told Daviess Circuit Judge Tom Castlen they had reached an impasse. Castlen instructed them to deliberate further, but about 90 minutes later, they returned to the courtroom and indicated they were still deadlocked.
“Do you have any hope that further deliberation would result in the ability to obtain a verdict?” Castlen asked.
The jury foreperson responded, “I don’t think so. We have some pretty strong heads.”
“So is it the consensus of the jury that you’re hopelessly deadlocked?” Castlen asked.
“I believe it is, yes,” the foreperson said.
Castlen then declared a mistrial.
“The unfortunate thing is, we’re just going to have to try it again,” he said. “I don’t think we can get a better jury than what we had. … I appreciate your attention to this matter and your resolve. It’s not easy, as you know, being involved in decision-making when it comes to a liberty interest.”
Some jurors spoke briefly with attorneys for both sides after they were discharged. According to defense attorney Ramon McGee, the jury was split 10-2 in favor of acquittal.
McGee asked the court to consider modifying Thruston’s bond following the mistrial.
“Given the disposition, I would ask the court to consider the issue of bond for Mr. Thruston. He’s been in custody now since the alleged violation for a substantial period of time. Obviously, he was out of custody for a number of years without an issue. We do have suitable housing for him, even with electronic monitoring,” McGee said.
Castlen denied the request without a formal motion.
“Well, the concern is he was charged with a violent offense. We’ve heard evidence of that over the last few days. He was out on bond, and then is alleged to have committed another violent offense, so I’m going to leave the bond as is,” Castlen said.
McGee said the new charge had since been dismissed in district court. Castlen said McGee could take up the matter in a formal motion.
Speaking to Owensboro Times after the mistrial, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Brian Quattrocchi said the April 17 hearing will likely involve bond arguments and setting a new trial date.
“There’s not much that I can say given that we have to do it again,” Quattrocchi said. “Understandably, this is disappointing, but the jury was great. They were attentive. Unfortunately, they just weren’t able to come to a consensus. So we have to rally up the troops and try again.”
McGee also spoke to Owensboro Times after the mistrial.
“Obviously, Mr. White’s death was the biggest tragedy in the case,” McGee said. “The other tragedy for me as counsel is I know that the person that they charged is not the person who shot him, but we have to go through the process so that the family can learn what actually did happen.”
McGee said the parties may discuss a resolution before the case returns to court.
“We’ll come back on the 17th, and we’ll set it for further proceedings,” he said. “We’ll probably have at least one more pre-trial conference, see if there’s any additional evidence that’s been found, and at that point we’ll set a new trial date. In the meantime, the parties will talk and see if the case can be settled so we can get it resolved for both families. If not, we’ll be back here trying it again.”
McGee said Thruston has accumulated approximately 3.5 to 4 years of credit between time served in custody and electronic monitoring. McGee said that prior to the recent arrest, for which he again said the charge was later dismissed, Thruston had a job and was meeting the conditions of his bond.
“He was working, he was checking in with court, he was doing fine,” McGee said.
Following the court proceedings Thursday, Thurston was taken back to the Daviess County Detention Center.
