Jurors in squeegee worker murder trial raise question about mistrial
BALTIMORE -- Jurors in the case of a teenage squeegee worker on trial for murder sent a note to the judge that they are having trouble coming to a unanimous verdict.
The jurors have been released for the day and deliberations will continue on Wednesday.
The jurors asked the judge what would happen if the case ended in a mistrial.
In response, the judge gave them what is known as an Allen Charge, essentially urging them to keep working to reach a unanimous verdict.
The note came just before 2 p.m.
Jurors resumed deliberations at 9 a.m. Tuesday. They spent roughly three hours deliberating on Monday following closing arguments.
The case involves the July 2022 death of Timothy Reynolds near the Inner Harbor.
On July 7, 2022, Reynolds had some sort of encounter with the defendant, stopped his Volkswagen amid the afternoon traffic on Light Street, got out a bat, and walked across traffic to confront squeegee workers.
He was shot five times that day with the bullets striking him three times in the back.
The defendant was 14 at the time of the killing. His lawyers have claimed self-defense. He is 16 years old today. WJZ is not naming him because of his age.
The teen never took the stand in his own defense, but during the trial, his lawyers blamed Reynolds for confronting him with a bat. Additionally, they tried to raise doubts that the teen was even the shooter.
The prosecution contends that Reynolds was walking away when he was shot, and the defendant purposely concealed his identity with a mask before pulling the trigger.
Jurors can consider first-degree, or premeditated murder. They can also consider the lesser second-degree murder, which requires no premeditation.
The jury can consider voluntary manslaughter if they believe the defendant was "acting in self-defense or defense of others."
