VICTORVILLE — A jury could not reach an unanimous verdict in the case against a 47-year-old Apple Valley man accused of killing a recent high school graduate, setting the stage for a new trial in May, court records show.
On the third day of deliberations Monday, the jury announced it was deadlocked as to whether Derrick Hill shot to death Apple Valley High School graduate Robbie Paul Stone Johnson, 18.
Johnson was found dead in a room he had occupied for about three weeks in a home belonging to Hill and his wife in the 11000 of Winterhawk Way in Apple Valley, authorities said. He was struck in the chest and died in minutes, according to testimony from San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Detective Bryan Zierdt.
Hill had been allowing Johnson to stay in the home rent-free, according to Hill’s former attorney, Richard Lafianza.
It was not immediately clear how divided the jurors were, or what they might have been conflicted over, but California requires an unanimous verdict for conviction.
Neither the case’s prosecutor or Hill’s attorney were available for comment Tuesday.
During a preliminary hearing in January, Deputy District Attorney Joel Buckingham called four sheriff’s officials involved in the murder investigation to testify.
Their testimony put the murder weapon in Hill’s hands. The prosecution’s key witness, Angel Imperial, testified that she saw Hill standing over the dead teen’s body, apologizing to him.
But public defender Andrew Moll, citing ballistic tests, noted that the black .38 caliber revolver and only weapon recovered from the home by authorities did not match the two bullets that were fired at Johnson.
On Monday, Judge Eric M. Nakata denied a defense motion to dismiss the case. In wake of the mistrial, a pre-trial hearing is scheduled for April 24.