Mistrial Declared In 2006 Murder Case
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- A judge has declared a mistrial for a man accused in the 2006 slaying of a former federal police officer.
William McDonald, 33, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Benjamin Curtis. But at his bench trial on Thursday, Anne Arundel County Circuit Michele Jaklitsch declared a mistrial.
The Capital of Annapolis reports that Jaklitsch ruled that prosecutors didn't let defense attorneys know they had offered immunity to one of their witnesses in exchange for her testimony. That information might have resulted in a different defense strategy, the judge said.
McDonald is accused of fatally shooting Curtis during a botched robbery behind a bar in Odenton. Curtis had formerly been an officer with Federal Protective Services.
The case will be reassigned to another judge and rescheduled.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
