Mistrials

A judge declared a second mistrial Friday in the case of an alleged gang member charged in the September 2003 slaying of the half-sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. The Compton Superior Court jury reported it was deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of convicting Robert Edward Maxfield, the district attorney's office said. Maxfield, 24, was accused of killing Yetunde Price with a shot in the back of the head while the woman sat in an SUV with her boyfriend, who was not injured.

A federal judge declared a mistrial Wednesday because a jury could not reach a verdict in the trial of three men accused of selling enough methamphetamines in the San Fernando Valley to keep a person high for 256 years, authorities said. Jose Sigala-Lomeli of Sylmar, Sergio Valencia Valenzuela of Pacoima, and Humberto Bombela Estrada of Van Nuys will be retried beginning Sept. 6 on charges of conspiracy and possession of methamphetamines with the intention to distribute, Assistant U.S. Atty.

A federal judge in Tucson declared a mistrial in the case of a U.S. Border Patrol agent charged with fatally shooting an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Jurors who had been deliberating the fate of agent Nicholas Corbett since late Tuesday told the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked. Corbett was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide in the 2007 death of Francisco Javier Dominguez- Rivera, 22. Jurors could convict on only one charge.

A Los Angeles federal judge declared a mistrial Friday in a damage suit brought by seven professional surfers against Abercrombie & Fitch over the retailer's use of their photograph in a catalog, a company lawyer said. U.S. District Judge Manuel Real accused one of the plaintiffs, George Downing, of Hawaii, of violating his order not to discuss the case with the news media, according to Joel McCabe Smith, attorney for Abercrombie & Fitch.

A jury deadlocked Monday on whether a Baptist minister convicted of fatally shooting his wife and daughter four years ago in their South Los Angeles home should be put to death. Henry Hayes was convicted of capital murder on Aug. 19. According to testimony, Hayes had cheated on his wife and fathered a child with another woman, and killed to avoid damage to his professional standing.