Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
After hearing three days of testimony and deliberating more than eight hours, the jury in the aggravated battery trial of a Columbia City man could not make a decision Wednesday evening.
Billy Dean Little, 34, of Columbia City, was convicted of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm by a felon in Kosciusko Circuit Court in March 2003.
Little was tried on both charges during the same trial, which was allowed in 2003, but he requested another trial after a similar case was decided in August 2003. On August 27, 2003, the verdict in Hines v. State of Indiana said it was not legal for a person to be put on trial for a felony and for being a felon with a weapon at the same time.
Since Little was tried and convicted of both crimes at the same time, his request was granted.
The 12-person jury heard testimony from seven witnesses, heard final arguments and began deliberations at 4:07 p.m.
At 11:06 p.m., the jury re-entered the courtroom and Kosciusko Circuit Judge Rex Reed addressed the panel.
"I brought you back in to inquire whether there's anything the court or the attorneys can do to assist you in your process," said Reed.
The jury left the courtroom and continued deliberations, sending questions for the judge and attorneys twice via paper.
At 11:40 p.m. Judge Reed brought the jury back to the courtroom.
"After nearly eight hours of deliberation and darn hard work ... you have been unable to arrive at a unanimous decision," Reed said. "At this time I am going to declare a mistrial in this matter. Since you were unable to reach an agreement in good conscience, you have done the right thing."
Little was returned to the custody of the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, and he will remain incarcerated while awaiting a new trial scheduled for June 13.
In March 2003, a 12-person jury found Little guilty of shooting Bruce Allen Smith of North Webster, June 4, 2002, after Little, his brother and another man were refused service at Good Times, a bar formerly on South Buffalo Street, Warsaw.
The gun and a shirt Little was wearing when the shooting took place later were recovered along Crystal Lake Road, where police investigators were told the items could be found. Little apparently changed his shirt after the shooting because he knew police were looking for a man in a white shirt.
Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed handed down a 70-year sentence to Little in April 2003 for aggravated battery and possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, both Class B felony charges, and for being a habitual offender. Little received 20 years for the each of the first two charges, with the habitual offender charge adding 30 years.
Little was previously convicted of felonies in Ohio and in Marshall County.
