Jurors concluded about 24 hours of deliberations in the manslaughter trial of officer Jeronimo Yanez without reaching a verdict, pushing talks into their fifth day Friday.
There was little activity Thursday before the jurors were recessed for the day about 4:30 p.m.
In a change from previous days, the jury had lunch catered in instead of leaving the Ramsey County Courthouse. The jury of five women and seven men, including two people of color, first appeared to be stalled Wednesday on whether Yanez is criminally culpable for last year's fatal shooting of Philando Castile.
About 1:40 p.m. Thursday, Castile's mother, Valerie Castile, and her attorney Glenda Hatchett arrived at the eighth floor of the courthouse to await any developments, leaving about an hour before jurors when it became apparent that nothing would come that day.
The first sign of a potential stall came when Ramsey County District Judge William H. Leary III convened jurors about 2:55 p.m. Wednesday and reread portions of the jury instructions they received earlier in the week. He did not explicitly explain why the jurors were being addressed and did not say whether they had sent a note to the court about the progress of their deliberations.
"You should discuss the case with one another and deliberate with a view toward reaching agreement, if you can do so without violating your individual judgment," Leary told the jurors. "You should decide the case for yourself, but only after you have discussed this case with your fellow jurors and have carefully considered their views.
"You should not hesitate to re-examine your views and change your opinion if you become convinced they are erroneous, but you should not surrender your honest opinion simply because other jurors disagree or merely to reach a verdict."
Jurors listened intently with no overt reaction and were quickly dismissed to continue their deliberations. They continued until 4:30 p.m. Thursday without reaching a decision and are expected to reconvene at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
