Jury foreman: Deliberations ‘at an impasse’

Case against Alexander Ingram in jeopardy

By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com

ROCKINGHAM — Juror No. 5 knocked on the door of Courtroom E at 2:42 p.m. Tuesday and notified Superior Court Judge Richard T. Brown that jurors were “at an impasse” in the murder trial against Alexander Ingram.

Alexander Ingram

Alexander Ingram

The juror expressed that “a number of votes” had been taken and that the jury seemed unable to reach a decision in the trial of the murder of former Norman General Store owner Michael Leverne Collins Sr. Jurors began their deliberations at about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday.

Defense attorney Stephen Freedman, prepared for the possibility of a hung jury, produced a copy of State v Smith (1987). Freedman cited the case as a reason to offer to jurors in this case a modified instruction to the effect that if a unanimous decision can’t be reached, simply let the court know.

Assistant District Attorney Dawn Layton objected to the modified instruction, in part because “the court in this (against Alexander Ingram) case instructed them they must reach a decision.”

Brown agreed with Layton and offered no modified instruction to the jury. The jury was released on a 15-minute break at approximately 3:05 p.m.

Update 5:15 p.m. Jurors have been excused for the day and are expected to resume deliberations at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Richmond County Judicial Center.

At 4:58 p.m., the jury foreman delivered a note that asked to see photos of the black Skecher shoes retrieved from Alexander Ingram’s Jackson Springs home on Nov. 27, 2012. Jurors also requested to see State Exhibits 74 through 77, which show the clothing recovered by investigators under the MacCallum Pond Road bridge that spans Big Creek near McCullum’s Pond.

Previous coverage
* 4/7: Jurors weighing ‘believable evidence’
* 4/6: Defense: Cops ‘just didn’t do their job’
* 4/6: Case against Alexander Ingram goes to jury
* 4/3: Things the jurors will never know
* 4/2: Judge denies defense motion for mistrial
* 4/2: Defense seeks mistrial
* 4/1: Detective: ‘I forgot’ to search co-defendant’s home
* 4/1: Pete Ingram: ‘To clear myself, I’d tell on my momma’
* 3/31: Co-defendant: ‘My uncle killed that man’
* 3/31: Defendant’s nephew: My uncle did it
* 3/30: 911 calls replayed, detectives questioned
* 3/30: Victim’s wife of defendant: ‘He was our friend’
* 3/27: Alternates selected, opening statements set for Monday
* 3/26: Medical emergency delays murder trial
* 3/25: ‘At a particular place at a particular time’
* 3/25: Jury set in murder trial of Norman General Store owner
* 3/25: Prospective juror caught up in gambling ring
* 3/24: Race becomes an issue in jury selection
* 3/24: Defense works from “presumption of innocence”
* 3/23: Jury selection begins in murder trial

 

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