Amid a silent courtroom and a stoic defendant, Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Kelbley uttered words he has used no more than five times in his 20 years as judge.
"I declare a mistrial as to those counts," Kelbley said.
Those counts - aggravated robbery, tampering with evidence, receiving stolen property, tampering with evidence and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity - came in the trial of William H. Perkins Jr. for the June Medicine Shoppe robbery. The words came Monday morning, eight days after testimony began.
Another panel of jurors will have to hear testimony again to see whether they can reach a decision because the Seneca County Prosecutor's Office plans to retry Perkins on those five charges.
"Still can not reach an agreement on counts 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8. Looks very unlikely that that will change," read a note from the jury to Kelbley.
Members sent a similar note Christmas Eve, telling the court they were deadlocked. Kelbley asked them to continue deliberating, eventually sending them home for Christmas to start again Monday.
"He's resolved," attorney Charles Hall said about his client before the verdict came in when Kelbley received the note.
Before the holiday break jury, members were 8-4 to find Perkins guilty on the deadlocked counts. Monday they were 9-3 leaning toward guilty, Seneca County Prosecutor Ken Egbert Jr. said after speaking to the jury.
"We're pleased two out of the three counts they could agree on were guilty," Egbert said.
Also standing quietly when the mistrial was announced was Teresa Schalk-Miller, one of the victims of the robbery. She has sat, at times crying, in the gallery of the courtroom on all but one day of the trial. Perkins' family also has been in attendance. After Monday's decision Perkins' mother declined to comment.
Perkins was found guilty of trafficking in drugs. He could be sentenced up to 18 months for that charge, and a maximum of 12 months for aggravated possession of drugs. He was found not guilty of a February breaking and entering at the same pharmacy to which law enforcement tried to link him.
With Kelbley declining to modify Perkins' bail, Perkins was taken back to the Seneca County Jail. Hall said he wanted to get his client back into the courtroom as soon as possible.
"We did greatly appreciate the jurors' hard work," Hall said.
Kelbley said he would meet with the attorneys later this week to schedule a new trial. While the second trial may not cost the same to taxpayers, the first trial cost about $2,200, not including the cost for the court reporter.
Kelbley said even though jury members were unable to reach a verdict on all the counts, he reassured them they did their job and worked hard.
After the trial, jury members met with Hall, Egbert and James Davey, assistant prosecutor.
Hall and Egbert said jury members wanted more to confirm the testimony of Angela Wolfe and Andrea Ford, Perkins' fiancee. Ford and Perkins have a child together. Ford testified from July to November she did not see her girl until Nov. 29.
He said members were bothered by Wolfe's testimony, who admitted to lying to law enforcement about the case, the attorneys said. Wolfe was the owner of the car allegedly used in the robbery, and on Sept. 22 was sentenced to 17 months after she admitted to helping sell oxycodone in Sandusky County.
In exchange for her testimony in Perkins' trial, the prosecutor's office agreed to not contest her application for judicial release from behind bars.
She has applied, and Common Pleas Court Judge Steve Shuff has said he is reviewing her testimony from Perkins' trial.
Ford has a similar agreement and is eligible to apply for judicial release before the end of the month. She testified the three planned the robbery. She also testified she went to the pharmacy with Perkins, where she remained in the car while he was gone.
During the trial, Hall maintained Ford and Wolfe were lying to obtain better deals for themselves.
Jurors wanted more to connect Perkins to the cell phone law enforcement tracked to the area using cell tower locations, Hall said after the trial.
Jurors also said they had a hard time with the discrepancy in the description of a sweatshirt the robber wore, Egbert said.
During testimony both victims from the pharmacy said the robber wore a hooded Ohio State sweatshirt that concealed his face. Ford, the admitted driver of the getaway car, testified he wore a Ralph Lauren sweatshirt.
