Deliberation in federal drug conspiracy trial of Lawrence twins, associate to resume next week

? A verdict in the long-running $17 million drug conspiracy trial of Lawrence twins Los Rovell and Roosevelt Rico Dahda, and California associate Justin Pickel, will have to wait at least one more week.

A 12-person jury deliberated for nearly 11 hours Tuesday before breaking without a verdict by 7 p.m. Because one juror will depart for vacation Wednesday, the jury won’t continue deliberation until 9 a.m. July 23.

The Dahdas and Pickel, a Lawrence High graduate, were among 43 people charged in 2012 after a sweeping investigation by the Lawrence-Douglas County Drug Enforcement Unit and the Drug Enforcement Administration. All three face charges of conspiracy and are accused of being involved in a seven-year conspiracy that funneled at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana from California to Kansas. If convicted, each faces mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years with life in federal prison a possibility.

Los Dahda is also charged with one count of continuing a criminal enterprise for allegedly committing multiple federal drug crimes while also serving as a supervisor or organizer of at least five fellow codefendants. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison with life also a possibility.

Jurors must also decide whether each man is guilty of numerous other drug crimes ranging from possession with the intent to distribute to using a cellphone as part of the conspiracy and maintaining a drug premise. The 43 codefendants were arrested in June and July 2012 at locations in Lawrence, the Kansas City area and California. All other defendants have pleaded guilty, and 16 testified during trial, which began in April.

Back for the first time since recessing on Friday, jurors resumed deliberations early Tuesday morning. They received the case following closing arguments last week and have so far deliberated two days.

Attorneys for each defendant have argued that the single conspiracy alleged by the government splintered into several different partnerships over the years after fallings out between various defendants.

“When you have multiple conspiracies you don’t have one conspiracy,” said Richard Johnson, Los Dahda’s attorney, last week. “And if you don’t have one, he’s not guilty.”