KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? A sleeping juror’s snores proved too much for fellow jurors and the judge, who declared a mistrial in the case of a man charged with first-degree murder.

Wyandotte County District Judge John J. McNally dismissed the female juror Wednesday, the third day of Melvin D. Harris’ trial. Typically, the judge would have seated the alternate juror, but that juror had already been needed.

With only 11 jurors left, McNally had no choice but to halt the trial. He rescheduled it for Aug. 19.

“I regret that we got three days into this case and we’re not able to finish it,” the judge said.

McNally questioned the snoring juror after he and several others in the courtroom noticed that she slept continually, sometimes emitting loud snorts, as witnesses testified. The juror said she had a medical condition.

“It’s not unusual to have jurors nodding off a little bit,” McNally said. “But generally it’s not something of this nature.”

Harris, 23, of Kansas City, Kan., is charged with first-degree murder, theft and forgery in the Jan. 19 slaying of Shane Knudtson, 27, of Independence, Mo.

Prosecutors allege that Harris shot Knudtson five times while the two sat in a parked car.

Police have said the two met about three months before the killing at a Kansas City, Mo., casino where Knudtson worked part time. During the preliminary hearing in March, a police lieutenant said Harris had told him he shot Knudtson after Knudtson grabbed Harris’ knee.

The mistrial disappointed several people in the courtroom, including some jurors.