STATEN ISLAND — The trial of the man accused of fatally gunning down two brothers outside a gas station ended with a hung jury.
After seven days of deliberations, a jury could not come to a unanimous verdict in the case of Wayne Thomas for the murder of Terrell Ford, 27, and Justin Ford, 28, and it was declared a mistrial on Monday, a spokesman for the Staten Island District Attorney's office said.
One juror refused to deliberate while the others voted to convict Thomas, 31, of the murders, leading to the hung jury, the Staten Island Advance reported.
On Oct. 4, 2015, a fight broke out in an after-hours club on Hillside Avenue and moved to the gas station on Targee Street and Vanderbilt Avenue where Terrell Ford followed and tried to ease tensions, the New York Times reported.
Justin Ford, who just finished work, rushed across the street to help his brother when they were both shot with a 9mm gun blocks away from their home, prosecutors said.
Terrell Ford was hit in torso and taken to Richmond University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said. Justin Ford was shot in the back and taken to Staten Island University Hospital North and pronounced dead.
Terrell Ford (left) and his brother Justin Ford. (YouTube/Launchymusic Cartatv)
Thomas, an ex-con then out on parole, was arrested four days later and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon for their deaths, prosecutors said.
His trial was adjourned to Dec. 9 for a conference and prosecutors will decide in the meantime if they'll retry the case or not, a source said.
