Twelve jurors never reached a vote closer to unanimous than 10-2 in the murder trial of Rontarus Washington Jr., but over the course of roughly 20 hours of deliberations, the majority gradually flipped from voting not guilty to guilty of murder, one of the jurors said on Sunday.
They announced Friday that they were hung on all counts. At a status conference Monday, the judge set aside time for a new four-week ...
Story updated at 5:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4:
After nearly three full days of deliberation, a jury on Friday was unable to reach a verdict in the murder trial of Rontarus Washington Jr., who was charged in connection with the 2014 death of a young woman who lived in his apartment building.
Douglas County District Court Judge James McCabria declared a mistrial after the jury announced its inability to decide, and ...
A University of Kansas linebacker charged after his arrest with two teen girls at a popular Lawrence bar has been granted a diversion agreement through the Douglas County district attorney’s office, court records show.
Thomas P. Barrett, 21, was arrested around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Jayhawk Cafe, commonly known as the Hawk, 1340 Ohio St. He was 20 at the time of his arrest.
Two 17-year-old ...
A Lawrence man allegedly told a woman that “the Devil told him she needed to die” before sexually assaulting her and then hitting her twice in the head with a stainless steel skillet as she tried to flee, according to a police affidavit.
Donavan Ryan Hiller, 34, was arrested — after being shocked with a Taser — at his home in the early-morning hours of Friday, Aug. 30. He was charged later that day ...
After a second full day of deliberation — bringing their total to about 15 hours since they started Tuesday — jurors considering a verdict in a Lawrence murder trial had not come to a conclusion by 5 p.m. Thursday.
On one count with which Rontarus Washington Jr. is charged, it seems the devil may be in the details. On the other, jurors might not be able to come to a unanimous decision.
Washington, 23, ...
A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a man accused in a January 2018 shooting at Lawrence’s Parnell Park.
Michael A. Hormell, 20, is charged in connection with an alleged robbery attempt that resulted in a 17-year-old being shot and flown to a hospital in critical condition. The teen later stabilized.
The case had been scheduled for a jury trial Monday through Friday of this week, but “the ...
