Judge Calls Mistrial In Ex-Deputy's Husband's Murder Case

HOUSTON, TX — A Texas judge declared a mistrial in the case of Terry Thompson, a former deputy's husband accused of choking a man to death in May 2017. The decision came after 29 hours of jury deliberation over three days.

The decision came Saturday evening when state District Judge Kelli Johnson read jurors an Allen charge before they returned to the jury room, KTRK reports. An Allen charge, dubbed a "dynamite charge," is meant to encourage jurors in the minority to move to the majority. In it, the judge essentially asks jurors in the minority to ensure they see their beliefs as correct and reasonable.

Judge Johnson declared the mistrial an hour after reading the Allen charge after an apparent failure of the jurors to agree on a verdict. They had four options: not guilty, guilty of murder, guilty of manslaughter or guilty of negligent homicide, KTRK reports.

The AP reports the prosecutors haven't announced whether they will retry Thompson.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

On May 28, 2017, Terry Thompson was pulling into a Denny's parking lot in Crosby when he saw a man, later identified as John Hernandez, relieving himself outside the restaurant and the two began fighting.

Thompson claimed Hernandez took a swing at him and that he tried to subdue Hernandez and put him in a chokehold. Part of the incident was caught on video, shown above. Thompson's wife, Chauna, arrived a short time later and is seen helping hold Hernandez down.

Hernandez stopped breathing during the struggle. The Associated Press reports that prosecutors told jurors Thompson had Hernandez in a choke hold for up to 15 minutes. Chauna Thompson called for backup, and began CPR.

Hernandez died three days later at an area hospital. The Thompsons were charged with murder.

Chauna Thompson is facing her murder trial in October, the AP reports.

Several law enforcement officers were called to Terry's trial to testify about the alleged mishandling, including Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, Assistant District Attorney's Tim Berg and Jim Leitner, the Houston Chronicle reported.

See more:

• Jury Selection Begins In Murder Trial Of Ex-Deputy's Husband
• Murder Trial Begins For Ex-Deputy's Husband
• Couple Charged With Murder Ask For Trial To Be Moved
• Change Of Venue Denied For Couple Accused Of Murder

Article image Harris County Sheriff's Office