San Diego
Despite reports that a verdict was imminent, jurors in the police murder trial of Sagon Penn finished their 26th day of deliberations Wednesday without arriving at a decision.
Penn family members and spectators crowded the Superior Court hallway outside Judge Ben W. Hamrick’s courtroom throughout the day in anticipation of a verdict. On Tuesday, jury foreman Douglas Bernd told Hamrick the jury was making progress and a decision was “possible” on Wednesday.
Jurors are expected to resume deliberations at 9 a.m. today.
Penn, 24, is charged with murder in the March 31, 1985, shooting death of San Diego Police Agent Thomas Riggs and attempted murder in the shootings of Agent Donovan Jacobs and Sarah Pina-Ruiz, a civilian ride-along who accompanied Riggs.
The defense claims Jacobs, who is white, provoked Penn, who is black, by beating him and using racial slurs before the shootings.
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