Jury reached 8-4 impasse in favor of acquitting federal agent [View all]

A Circuit Court jury reached an impasse at 8-4 in favor of acquitting State Department special agent Christopher Deedy of murdering Kollin Elderts in the 2011 shooting at a Waikiki McDonald’s restaurant, the foreman of the jury said today.

The panel was split 6-6 when the five days of deliberations began Aug. 15, shifted to 7-4 for acquittal with one abstention last week and ended with the 8-4 deadlock, foreman Justin Odagiri said.

The foreman said he wasn’t sure if the jury could have reached a verdict if the jurors had the option of returning a conviction on the lesser offense of manslaughter.

“It’s hard to say in hindsight,” Odagiri said. “It’s hard to go back and think about that.”

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