A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday after jurors deadlocked in the case of an Arizona man accused of fatally shooting an Ignacio resident 16 years ago.
The jury deliberated for a day and half before 6th Judicial District Judge Kim Shropshire declared a mistrial.
Larry Fuller, 49, was found collapsed on an Ignacio sidewalk in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2009, after being shot once in the face.
David Hendren, 39, was arrested in 2023 in connection with the death, nearly 14 years after the case went cold.
Prosecutors argued Hendren shot Fuller after mistaking him for the man Hendren’s brother had fought with earlier.
The defense said Hendren did not pull the trigger and that the state’s theory did not match the evidence.
Jurors began deliberating about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and by Wednesday had reached three standstills.
Around noon Wednesday, they informed the court of their third standstill in a written question to the judge: “After deliberating we cannot come to a unanimous decision and have nothing else to deliberate on, what do we do next?”
The prosecution responded by advocating for the use of a modified Allen charge, a jury instruction designed to encourage deadlocked jurors to reach an agreement.
The defense objected and asked for the murder charge against Hendren to be dropped.
The 16-year gap between Fuller’s death and Hendren’s trial posed challenges for prosecutors while strengthening the defense’s case.
Many of the prosecution’s witnesses had been drinking with Hendren and Fuller on the night of Fuller’s death. Their ability to recall details was further complicated by their admitted intoxication at the time.
Additionally, prosecutors relied heavily on two key statements: an eyewitness account and testimony from a witness who claimed Hendren admitted to the shooting the next day.
Both statements were made nearly 14 years after Fuller’s death, raising questions about memory reliability – a point the defense repeatedly emphasized.
After explaining the basis for her rejection of the modified Allen instruction, Shropshire declared a mistrial.
If deliberations continued, she worried it would be asking too much of the jurors’ time for a case with a single charge, noting that the deliberations had already lasted longer than any she had seen during her tenure as a judge.
She said her primary concern was the potential coercion of jurors.
“I just feel like I can’t put the jury back in deliberation without a high risk of coercion of one or more jurors,” Shropshire said before declaring a mistrial.
Prosecutors signaled they would likely seek a retrial but will first consult with Fuller’s family, said District Attorney Sean Murray.
“We want to make sure that we’re being victim-centered,” Murray said. “So we want to make sure that they’re (the victim’s family) informed and their voice is being heard.”
A status hearing is scheduled for 8 a.m. March 7.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
