After two and a half days of deliberations, jurors in the murder trial against Marlon Williams told Judge Lynn Leibovitz that they had reached a deadlock.
Sitting in for Judge Canan, Leibovitz declared a mistrial in the case at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday. It is the third D.C. homicide trial to result in a deadlock this year.
Williams is charged with five counts in connection with the shooting death of Min Soo Kang, including felony murder while armed and attempted robbery. Eight jurors voted guilty on the murder charge, the jury said. Six jurors voted to convict on the attempted robbery charge.
At trial, prosecutors argued that Williams shot Kang inside his Cadillac Escalade on September 13, 2010, after Kang had returned from purchasing two cartons of cigarettes in Virginia.
Police found Kang’s body on the sidewalk in the 3500 block of Croffut Place Southeast, and reported his vehicle as stolen to OnStar. The company locked the ignition, preventing whoever had it from starting the Escalade.
A witness testified that she saw a man resembling Williams tinkering with a Cadillac Escalade outside her home two miles from where Kang was found, and she reported the suspicious activity to the police. By the time police arrived, Williams was gone, but his fingerprints were found on the hood and inside of the vehicle.
A search warrant later recovered a semiautomatic pistol from Williams’ home; the gun matched the bullets recovered from inside the Cadillac.
Williams’ defense attorney, Russell Hairston, argued that the government had only proven that Williams had touched the outside of the vehicle. Holes remained in the case, he said.
Judge Leibovitz scheduled a status hearing on Canan’s calendar for Thursday. The defense is expected to motion for Williams’ release. Prosecutors will seek to schedule a new trial date for the case.
