DANBURY— A judge on Tuesday declared a mistrial in the case of a 31-year-old Danbury man after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
The five-woman, one-man jury told Judge Robin Pavia they were deadlocked on all three charges against Richard Acevedo, a 31-year-old Danbury man originally accused of being the mastermind of an attempted robbery of a Brookfield drug dealer in 2012. But by the time the jury got the case on last Thursday after a two-week trial, the only charges he still faced were possession of burglars tools, carrying a weapon in a vehicle and interfering with police.
The five-woman, one man jury told the judge on Friday that they were having difficulty, and when they returned to court Tuesday morning, Pavia gave them the so-called Chip Smith charge, in which jurors in the minority were told to consider the views of the majority in reaching a decision.
But two hours later, they told the judge further deliberations would be fruitless.
Acevedo’s defense team, attorneys Ioannis Kaloidis and Jason Lipsky of Waterbury, praised the jury for sticking to the evidence that was presented during the trial.
“We felt the state had not met its burden of proof,” Kaloidis said. “There was a lot of smoke but no fire.”
Neither of Acevedo’s two alleged accomplices, both of who pleaded guilty to attempted robbery charges last year, testified during the trial. Both are serving prison sentences.
Pavia continued the case to Feb. 19, and it is possible the state could be retried on the charges, Kaloidis said.
